writer. Originally from Washington DC, Kenna lives in Los Angeles with her husband, son, and giant schnauzer, Zelda. When she’s not writing Kenna can be found nerding out in art museums, exploring flea markets, and playing string instruments badly. Her debut novel, What Meets the Eye, was nominated for a Shamus Award for best first PI novel.
Kenna applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, Burn this Night, and reported the following:
From page 69:Visit Alex Kenna's website.Twenty months ago—AbbyWhile I was intrigued by the Page 69 Test, the challenge isn’t a perfect fit for a book written from multiple perspectives and across different timelines. My novel, Burn this Night, explores an arson murder and a cold case killing that both occurred in a small mountain town. Most of the book is told from the perspective of a private detective investigating the crimes. But page 69 starts a flashback chapter told from the perspective of Abby Coburn, a woman who died in the fire.
The first time I read the play Gruesome Playground Injuries, it made me cry. It told the story of Doug and Kayleen, two platonically in love friends, from childhood through their late thirties. I jumped at the chance to play Kayleen, whose shitty parents set her on a lifelong path of self-destruction. Meanwhile, Doug, her reckless, daredevil friend adores her from a distance, periodically maiming himself in a series of increasingly stupid and preventable accidents.
The story moves around in time, tracing their lives through different injuries – both mental and physical. In one scene they’re eight, chatting in the school nurse’s office, him with a head scrape, and her with a tummy ache. Flash forward ten years, and Doug’s just been beat up for defending Kayleen’s honor. Meanwhile, she’s curled up in bed, in deep denial about a non- consensual sexual encounter.
What moved me about the story was how much it made me think of my relationship with Jacob—minus the romantic connection. Doug and Kayleen talk to each other like kids, never losing the immature kid speech they had when they met. I loved how that immaturity was paired with this intense adult bond they shared. Even though they’re both too broken to help each other. It made me think of my brother—how I act like a teen around him. How I feel in my gut that something is really wrong and he’s starting to spiral in a way that I’m powerless to stop.
Abby is an intense, reflective person with a passion for art and family. This snippet is a window into her character. Abby is a struggling actress who gives up her original career to study social work. She makes this seismic life change after her brother, Jacob, becomes addicted to methamphetamine and starts to lose his mind. Here, Abby has just finished performing in Gruesome Playground Injuries, a fascinating play by Rajiv Joseph. The play follows two platonic friends over time, who love each other, but who are too immature and psychologically damaged to fully connect. On page 69, Abby reflects on how much the play echoes her love for her brother and her inability to reach him or slow his downward spiral.
Q&A with Alex Kenna.
My Book, The Movie: What Meets the Eye.
Writers Read: Alex Kenna.
--Marshal Zeringue
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