"The Boy Who Glowed in the Dark"

Orest Stelmach is the Ukrainian-American author of the Nadia Tesla series, including The Boy From Reactor 4, The Boy Who Stole from the Dead, and The Boy Who Glowed in the Dark, which was released this month. Stelmach is donating 25% of his December royalties from his new release to Chernobyl Children International, which sponsors medical missions to Ukraine to save the lives of children affected by the legacy of nuclear disaster.

Stelmach applied the Page 69 Test to The Boy Who Glowed in the Dark and reported the following:

From Page 69:

Johnny led Nadia and Bobby along the streets of Shibuya toward a low-key shabu-shabu restaurant, where customers cooked their own dinners on a skillet at the table. They’d left New York on Tuesday and arrived in Tokyo Wednesday afternoon. Johnny’s jet lag had vanished from the moment he’d laid eyes on Nadia. His gut told him she was in more danger than either of them knew, but at least the three of them were together.

Nadia and Johnny walked close together so their conversation couldn’t be overheard. They let Bobby get a few steps ahead of them so they could keep an eye on him. He gaped and gawked at the people and the neon lights.

“We were followed from my apartment to the airport,” Nadia said. She told him how Bobby duped airport security into taking the men into custody.

Johnny wasn’t surprised by the kid’s balls or skills. The back-story to his murder accusation had established he was no ordinary seventeen year-old. “Who were they?”

“Don’t know,” Nadia said. “They looked straight out of central casting for Russian or Uke mafia types. Right off the streets of Moscow or Kyiv. But when things look one way, they’re often another.”

The Page 69 Test is a doozy. There is so much entertainment at peoples’ fingertips in the world today, I’m not sure someone who reads this page will necessarily flip to the next one. One thing I am sure of is that an author is the worst judge of his own material. It takes so much self-confidence to write a book that he inevitably ends up drunk on his own Kool-Aid when he’s done. That said, let me try to be objective.

The reader can infer much about the book from the sixty-ninth page. The scene takes place in Tokyo and references are made to Moscow and Kyiv. This is a story with an international setting. There’s tension from the first paragraph. Johnny fears they’re in danger, Nadia mentions they were followed to the airport, and she also reveals that the kid, Bobby, conned airport security into arresting the men who were following them. The reader knows this is an international thriller.

Perhaps the most insightful comment on the page, however, is the last one. “When things look one way, they’re often another.” This line portends the twists and turns these characters will face. Bobby, a child of Chernobyl, is in possession of half a formula that could change the world. Someone from his past claims to have the other half. Meanwhile, powerful men are intent on securing the treasure these three people seek. Is there a formula? Who will survive and who will prevail?

Based on this analysis, I conclude that the reader would most definitely read on. What sane reader wouldn’t … No, wait. The images on my computer screen are coming in and out of focus. What’s happening? Ah, but of course ... Ignore what I just said.

I’m drunk on my own Kool-Aid.

Visit Orest Stelmach's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Revolution"

Jenna Black is your typical writer. Which means she's an "experience junkie." She got her BA in physical anthropology and French from Duke University.

Once upon a time, she dreamed she would be the next Jane Goodall, camping in the bush making fabulous discoveries about primate behavior. Then, during her senior year at Duke, she did some actual research in the field and made this shocking discovery: primates spend something like 80% of their time doing such exciting things as sleeping and eating.

Concluding that this discovery was her life's work in the field of primatology, she then moved on to such varied pastimes as grooming dogs and writing technical documentation.

Black applied the Page 69 Test to Revolution, the third installment in the Replica Trilogy Series, and reported the following:

From page 69:

"So what you're telling me," Angel said softly, her eyes narrowed in a glare that was probably supposed to intimidate the "real" truth out of Nadia, "is that our new Chairman isn't really a human being at all. Do I have that right?"

"I wouldn't put it quite that way," Nadia said. "I think Dorothy probably technically qualifies as human, it's just that her mind isn't human. Think of her as a kind of robot housed in human flesh."

Angel glanced over at Bishop. "She been dipping into the happy pills lately? 'Cause this all sounds more like a bad trip than reality."

Yes, I think that page is pretty representative of the book. Nate, Nadia, and their friends have the almost impossible task of trying to unseat the impostor who has taken over the Chairmanship of their state--all while being on the run from the authorities with a price on their heads. Not only do they have a whole lot of practical obstacles--how are a bunch of teenage fugitives going to topple a government?--but they also have to deal with the seeming implausibility of their claims.

The scene quoted above takes place in the Basement, which is basically the slums, only much more lawless than the slums of today's world. It's the only place they can hide where Dorothy's enforcers won't find them, but they won't be able to survive there--especially not with the price on their heads--unless they can convince some of the Basement power-players--like Angel--that they are worth saving.

I hope the page would make people want to read on. But I also hope it would make people want to catch up on everything that's happened so far and pick up the first two books, Replica and Resistance.

Visit Jenna Black's website.

Writers Read: Jenna Black.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Suspicion at Seven"

Ann Purser's latest Lois Meade mystery is Suspicion at Seven.

She applied the Page 69 Test to the new novel and reported the following:

Page 69 has only five lines at the end of a chapter, but I quote the whole of it, as it could not better represent the rest of the book!

Her heart lurched as she saw the big sign advertising Brigham Luxury Jewellery. Busy talking from behind the display was Gran, her face flushed and excited. Behind her, Joan was wrapping up a purchase. Neither of them saw her, and she slipped away, walking rapidly to sit on a straw bale at the ringside to consider what she should do next.

Learn more about the book and author at Ann Purser's website.

The Page 69 Test: Found Guilty at Five.

Writers Read: Ann Purser.

My Book, The Movie: Suspicion at Seven.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Come Away"

Stephen Policoff has taught writing at Wesleyan and Yale and is currently Master Teacher of Writing in Global Liberal Studies at NYU. His books include the novel Beautiful Somewhere Else, the memoir Sixteen Scenes from a Film I Never Wanted to See, two YA books, The Dreamer’s Companion and Real Toads in Imaginary Gardens (co-authored with Jeffrey Skinner), and the children’s book Cesar’s Amazing Journey.

Policoff applied the Page 69 Test to his new novel, Come Away , and reported the following:

Page 69 of Come Away contains the end of the only (fairly muted) sex scene in the novel, which takes place while Nadia’s father, the eminent New Age philosopher, Dr. Erik Maire, is dozing in the next room.

Despite his love for/ appreciation of his young wife, Paul cannot stop the monologue of anxiety in his head. Nadia, far more centered and optimistic than Paul, is also unable to dispel her fears about their daughter Spring, who has suffered a mysterious accident just before the novel begins:

Sometimes I worry that Nadia—far better looking and younger than anyone I deserve—might be tempted by one of the bad Bobs or Mikes in her office. But then she’ll whisper something sweet or exciting in my ear, stroke my face, tell me that I make her feel beautiful, make her feel sexy. These are things she whispers to me sometimes, and who doesn’t like to hear that?

“You were so quiet,” she said, leaping up. “Not sexy enough for you?” She jumped back onto the bed, cupped her hands over her mouth in a mock shout. “Or is it that Dad is just a wall away?” She laughed, pulled on her long white nightshirt, flopped onto the pillows.

I was still lying there as if pinioned to our sweaty sheets, trying to keep the moment alive, trying not to let my thoughts race toward what they usually race toward.

She lifted her beautiful head. “You don’t think there’s something wrong with Spring like Jack thinks there’s something wrong with his boys? That she sees things? That she sees things that aren’t there?”

“She’s five. Your father says that’s the magical age, the age when they can’t really tell the difference between what’s real and what isn’t…”

“Can you?” She looked grave suddenly. “Maybe you should call the doctor tomorrow.”

“About her or about me?”

“I’m worried about you, but I’m used to your moods and your weird ideas. But Spring…what if there’s still bleeding or something and they didn’t get it out or it wasn’t just a fall, it
was something else. You know, a seizure? So please call him, just make sure.”

“He’s such an asshole.”

“So is my father, but you just quoted him to me. Call Dr. Balin tomorrow, okay? See what he says about this green girl?”

So does this pass the Page 69 Test? I am inclined to say yes! I have elsewhere described Come Away as a dark domestic comedy with a mild buzz of the supernatural, and I think on this page you can see that: the odd yet loving relationship between Paul and Nadia, their heightened apprehension and dread about Spring, and the mention of the mysterious green girl—whom only Spring and Paul seem to see, and whom Paul fears may represent some malign force intent on taking his child from him. Needless to say, I have no objectivity here, but it does seem to me that you might get a small taste of the larger feast of Come Away from this page.

Visit Stephen Policoff's faculty webpage and Facebook page, and learn more about Come Away.

Writers Read: Stephen Policoff.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Time Roads"

Beth Bernobich is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Her short stories have appeared in Asimov's, Interzone, Strange Horizons, and Tor.com, among other places. Her books include the young adult fantasy Fox and Phoenix, the fantasy trilogy River of Souls, and the newly released The Time Roads.

Bernobich applied the Page 69 Test to The Time Roads and reported the following:

From page 69:

…Ó Deághaidh was evidently waiting for some kind of response. “I knew them all,” Síomón said. “In some cases, I knew more than I liked. It’s a large university, but a small department—the graduate department, that is.”

Ó Deághaidh nodded. “The Queen’s Constabulary is much like that.”

Síomón’s pulse gave a sudden painful leap. The Queen’s Constabulary of Éire normally concerned itself with only royal affairs. But then he remembered Maeve’s family. Lord Ó Cadhla was a high- ranking minister in Éire’s government and adviser to the queen. It was his influence, no doubt, that had brought Commander Ó Deághaidh to Awveline City.

“You look unsettled, Mr. Madóc.”

Síomón ran his hand over his face. “I am more than unsettled. I am distressed. It’s a hard thing, to hear that a friend has died.”

And you gave me that news without warning. Then watched to see how I acted.

But he knew better than to say so to a stranger, much less a member of the Queen’s Constabulary.

The Time Roads is an alternate history novel consisting of four linked stories, set in the early 20th century, in a world where Ireland is the world empire and England one of its dependencies. It's also a world where prime numbers have special properties and time travel is possible. Page 69 takes place early in the second story of the book, A Flight of Numbers Fantastique Strange, when a stranger first approaches Síomón Madóc with questions about a series of horrific murders taking place among Awveline University's mathematics students.

So does page 69 represent the book? Yes, I think so. While the story itself is centered on Awveline University and the murders, this conversation references all the important themes and characters throughout the book. Síomón is a graduate student in mathematics, and the subject of mathematics is present in all four stories. The stranger who approaches him is Commander Aidrean Ó Deághaidh, a former mathematics student himself and the Queen's spymaster. And the mention of the Queen and Lord Ó Cadhla are hints of the book's larger world.

Learn more about the book and author at Beth Bernobich's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Earth & Sky"

Megan Crewe is the author of the young adult novels Earth & Sky (the first in the Earth & Sky trilogy), The Way We Fall, The Lives We Lost, The Worlds We Make (the Fallen World trilogy), and Give Up the Ghost.

She applied the Page 69 Test to Earth & Sky and reported the following:

When I checked page 69 of Earth & Sky, I was struck to discover it contains this passage, in which the alien rebel Win is sharing a recording of his group's leader with Skylar, the novel's Earthling protagonist, who he hopes to convince to join him in fighting to free Earth from his people's control:

The guy—Jeanant, this leader Win’s been talking about—appears to be no older than his midtwenties. His curly black hair drifts over the tops of his ears as he nods, the even light glowing off his bronze skin. But it’s the way he stands that fixes my gaze on him. From the straightening of his shoulders to the tilt of his head, he exudes a firm purposefulness, as if he’s exactly where he needs to be.

Then he starts to speak, in a low voice that carries through the cloth’s invisible speakers in the choppy yet rolling syllables of what could be an alien language. After a second, a computerized English translation kicks in, its inflectionless tone blending into his voice.

“It doesn’t matter where they were born, who their ancestors are, what’s written in their genetic code,” Jeanant says. “Every thinking, feeling conscious being deserves our respect. Everyone of them deserves the chance to determine the course of his or her own life, without outside manipulation. Because no matter what some of us like to tell ourselves, they have their own minds with their own unique visions of the universe, that are just as valid and meaningful as anyone else’s.”

He punctuates his point with a sweep of his hands.

“Look at these people, and remember they could have been our friends,” he says. “They could be our teachers, in a far better way than we use them now. But not until we make things right and release them from what’s all but slavery. And we can. There may not be very many of us, but if we’ve learned anything from all our centuries of study, it’s that a small group can make a difference.

Jeanant's speech (which goes on for another few sentences on page 70) is a defining statement not just for this book, but for the entire trilogy. His ideas are the reason Win has come to Earth at all. His words and his dedication convince Skylar to help the rebel cause. And the goals he relates become increasingly vital to the main characters over the course of the series, as well as hinting at the weaknesses that will cause their opponents' downfall.

This excerpt doesn't capture much of the story's action or personal drama, but from a philosophical point of view, it offers a pretty much perfect picture of what these books are all about.

Visit Megan Crewe's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Stranger"

Rachel Manija Brown is the author of the memoir All the Fishes Come Home to Roost: An American Misfit in India. Sherwood Smith is the author of many fantasy novels for teenagers and adults, including Crown Duel and the Mythopoiec Award Finalist The Spy Princess.

They applied the Page 69 Test to their new novel, Stranger, and reported the following:

From page 69:

Ross and Mia walked to a busy intersection marked with signs he couldn’t read, where they stopped for a cart pulled by armor-skinned bullocks. There were people everywhere, so many that it was impossible to keep them all safely within view, and they all either openly stared at him or pretended they didn’t. Children nudged one another and pointed. His shoulder blades crawled with the need to get a wall at his back.

“How big is this town?” his voice was soft, but everyone within earshot stared.

“Population one thousand sixteen,” Mia said with visible pride. “Including our newest citizens, Enrique and Esteban Carrillo, age three weeks.”

His attention was caught by a couple in pants and shirts the color of desert sand, walking quickly and with purpose. They bristled with weapons.

This excerpt from page 69 is representative of the setting: a post-apocalyptic frontier town built on the ruins of Los Angeles, full of mutated animals, and townspeople who rarely see visitors.

It’s also representative of the characters: Ross is a prospector (a scavenger of artifacts from the pre-apocalypse world) who is used to fighting off the many dangers of the desert by himself. He’s not scared of risking his life, but he is scared of socializing.

Mia is the teenage town engineer who has a small obsession with numbers.

What page 69 is not representative of is that it doesn’t have any action. The book as a whole is full of battles with giant rattlesnakes, people discovering their mutant powers, and romance—and that’s before the entire town has to pull together to fight off the most deadly attack yet.

Learn more about Stranger at the Viking Children’s Books website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"This Is How It Ends"

Jen Nadol grew up in Reading, Pennsylvania and graduated from American University with a BA in literature. She's lived in Washington DC, Boston, NYC and now, an old farmhouse north of the city with her husband and three sons. When she's not writing, she's probably tending to the farmhouse or the sons, reading, cooking, skiing, or sleeping.

Nadol applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, This Is How It Ends, and reported the following:

From page 69:

“Hey, Loser.” Someone tapped me on the shoulder and I turned to find Matty Gretowniak leaning against the railing.

“What are you doing here?” I said, still feeling the sting of his comments about the SATs, but otherwise glad to see him. Most of the kids here were skiers or partiers or jocks. I was none of the above and neither was he, as far as I knew.

“Having a Coke. Enjoying the view. You?”

“Trolling for chicks.”

Matty laughed. “Good luck with that. I came with my sister,” he admitted. “She’s on the ski team this year.”

“Awesome,” I said. “Point her out and I’ll troll in that direction.”

“Don’t you dare.”

Trip had continued on without me and I saw him on the far side of the deck with the girls and John. “You run today?” I asked Matty.

“Are you kidding?” he said. “That course is brutal. You ever done it?”

“About five hours ago.”

Matty whistled. “Impressive. Brains and brawn.”

“You know, Matty,” I said. “You keep talking like that and I’m gonna start thinking you have a thing for me.”

“Well, now that you mention it…” he joked. “Actually, I was checking out your friend.”

“Trip? He’s got a girlfriend.”

“No, you idiot.” Matty cleared his throat, suddenly uncomfortable. “The girl. Tannis.”

“Tannis?” My eyebrows shot up. “She’s not—“ I stopped, realizing what I’d been about to say– she’s not a girl – was mean. I might rag on Tannis to her face, but I didn’t want to do it behind her back. “– not seeing anyone,” I finished.

This scene takes place at a party after the Warrior Dash, a big race that kicks off tourist season in the small, dilapidated Vermont ski town that is the setting for This Is How It Ends. While the novel centers on the dual mysteries of a murder and a strange pair of binoculars the teens find, underlying both is an exploration of friendship - how we come together with certain people, who we trust and to what extent and why. The dialogue between Riley and Matty in this scene is representative of that. Matty isn’t a big player in the story, but perhaps Riley should have chosen him as a closer friend. Instead, Riley holds fast to his childhood friendship with Trip, who he describes as “capricious, fearless, self-centered, fun and loyal when he wants to be”, though they have little in common but their shared history.

What I love about this scene is its potential energy. It’s near the tipping point of the story and the blocks that have been put in place are about to start tumbling down. Each of the things mentioned in this casual dialogue – Matty’s interest in Tannis, the Warrior Dash which Riley just ran with Sarah, his longtime crush, Matty’s earlier comments about the SATs – are all significant to how the story unfolds.

Visit Jen Nadol's website.

Writers Read: Jen Nadol.

--Marshal Zeringue

"An Unseemly Wife"

E. B. Moore grew up in a Pennsylvania fieldstone house on a Noah’s ark farm. The red barn stabled animals two-by-two, along with a herd of Cheviot sheep. After a career as a metal sculptor, she returned to writing poetry. Her chapbook of poems, New Eden, A Legacy (Finishing Line Press, 2009), was the foundation for her novel, An Unseemly Wife, both based on family stories from her Amish roots in Lancaster. E. B. received full fellowships to The Vermont Studio Center and Yaddo. She is the mother of three, the grandmother of five, and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Moore applied the Page 69 Test to An Unseemly Wife and reported the following:

From page 69:

In the great sea of dark, she clung to the firelight. …A distant coyote yipped.

If only (Ruth) could see a moon… its mouth open as if howling, yet silent as herself. Anything to dispel the dark.

What foolishness. Wasn’t what waited beyond the fire’s light the same as she’d seen in the day, unrecognizable for now, a joy tomorrow, just as Idaho would be? All in God’s hand, a hand she knew but couldn’t see.

On page 69, Ruth’s loneliness and her desire to believe the unbelievable are at the heart of An Unseemly Wife. She was nine months pregnant, about to give birth, and against her will her husband, Aaron, bundled her, along with their four children age 11 down to 3, into a Conestoga wagon headed overland. They braved the unknown on a 2000 miles trek to claim free land in the west.

Her upbringing said, obey your husband. Their Amish religion said, obey, but not this departure, not from the Fold and safety of their valley in Pennsylvania. Leaving the Fold went against the Old Order rule: stay separate. Aaron promised they’d keep their distance from all English.

Despite this, his demand set off Ruth’s unseemly behavior, and she grew worse when they joined the dreaded outsiders. On the trail their very survival depended on being part of the English community. This included a preacher’s wife who wore grey, not the fancy colors of other women. She seemed like-minded, if overbearingly friendly. Another who crowded Ruth’s boundaries was an unnerving woman dressed in men’s fringed pants and jacket. Among them, friendships grew, even flourished until prejudice and jealousies lead to betrayal, and the separateness Ruth believed would save their souls, proved catastrophic, with the family abandoned on the trailside fighting for their lives.

Visit E.B. Moore's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Heritage of Cyador"

L. E. Modesitt, Jr., is the bestselling author of the fantasy series The Saga of Recluce, Corean Chronicles, and the Imager Portfolio. His science fiction includes Adiamante, the Ecolitan novels, the Forever Hero Trilogy, and Archform: Beauty. Besides a writer, Modesitt has been a U.S. Navy pilot, a director of research for a political campaign, legislative assistant and staff director for a U.S. Congressman, Director of Legislation and Congressional Relations for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a consultant on environmental, regulatory, and communications issues, and a college lecturer.

Modesitt applied the Page 69 Test to  Heritage of Cyador, the 18th book in The Saga of Recluce, and reported the following:

From page 69:

“Speaking of similarities – ” Lerial slides the cloth-wrapped miniature from his riding jacket, using a slight concealment to blur it, should there be eyes in the walls, so to speak, although he can sense no one near but the guard, then slips the miniature into the older man’s hand. “– there are more than a few.”

In this scene, Lerial has just met Rhamuel, the arms-commander of the neighboring duchy of Afrit, who is also the younger brother of the duke of Afrit… and, equally important and potentially dangerous, the former lover of his aunt, and the father of Lerial’s young cousin, a fact unknown in Rhamuel’s land and barely known in Cigoerne, Lerial’s duchy, a land created by the refugee descendants of the emperor of fallen Cyador. The miniature is the first portrait Rhamuel has ever seen of his daughter.

The scene is an example of all the intrigues that surround the two men, both younger brothers, although Rhamuel’s brother is the ruler, and Lerial’s is the heir. Both men are far more talented and accomplished than their siblings, and the future of their respective lands rests on their abilities in both battle and in intrigue. But all eyes are on both of them, and neither can afford to reveal that they are more closely linked than any can suspect, for both might well then be considered traitors, even though Lerial has been sent as a commander of three companies of Mirror Lancers to assist Afrit in repelling an invasion by their mutual enemy. If either fails, or is discredited, both lands will likely fall.

Learn more about the author and his work at L. E. Modesitt, Jr.'s website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Allegiance"

Beth Bernobich is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Her short stories have appeared in Asimov's, Interzone, Strange Horizons, and Tor.com, among other places. Her books include the young adult fantasy Fox and Phoenix, the fantasy trilogy River of Souls, and the newly released The Time Roads.

Bernobich applied the Page 69 Test to Allegiance, the third book in the River of Souls trilogy, and reported the following:

From page 69:

“I go to Duenne tomorrow,” he said. “Leos Dzavek is dead. Armand will know that soon, if he does not already. You can imagine what follows next. So I intend to demand a public audience before the entire council. It is my right as my father’s heir. There I will say all that I should have said years before.”

At first Emma was unable to speak. Dzavek dead. Raul Kosenmark returning to court and council. It was as though the gods had reached down and overturned all their lives. But immediately after came the thought, He dissolved his shadow court, but his spies are still at work in Károví.

She wondered what else he had kept from her and Benno.

“Will Armand listen?” Benno asked softly. “He never has before.”

Another shrug, but Emma did not mistake that gesture for indifference. “I cannot tell. I also intend to speak with my father and his factions—with any faction that will have me—so that mine is not the only voice. There are others who might dislike me, but they dislike more the idea of a senseless war. They know that Károví will not yield, if they ever do yield, without a long and bloody fight.”

More revelations. “When did your father return to court?”

Kosenmark smiled bitterly. “Another recent event. I wrote to him last month, during my absence.”

Yes, the absence that remained a mystery.

“What of Lir’s jewels?” Benno asked. “Dzavek had one. Surely—”

“I have no report about them.”

Allegiance is the third book in my River of Souls trilogy, set in the fantasy world of Erythandra, which tells the story of a young woman named Ilse Zhalina and her journey toward independence. It's also the story of two nations on the brink of war. One of the chief players is Lord Raul Kosenmark, an exiled councilor, who runs a secret organization to influence politics from afar. On page 69, he announces his intention to abandon secrecy and openly oppose the king's call for war. The decision marks a turning point not only for Kosenmark himself, but also for his allies, his enemies, and the kingdom.

So does page 69 represent the book? It definitely represents the political aspect of the entire trilogy, which has centered around Raul Kosenmark's efforts for peace. Ilse Zhalina herself plays an important role in those efforts, at first as Raul's helper, then as his lover and partner. While she's not present in this scene, her actions in the previous book have led directly to Raul's decision, which in turn will lead them both to the king's court and the final confrontation with their enemies.

Learn more about the book and author at Beth Bernobich's website.

The Page 69 Test: Passion Play.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Golden Hour"

Todd Moss, formerly the top American diplomat in West Africa, draws on his real-world experiences inside the U.S. Government to bring to life the exhilaration—and frustrations—of modern-day foreign policymaking. His new novel, The Golden Hour, was originally inspired by the August 2008 coup d’état in Mauritania when Todd was dispatched by Secretary Condoleezza Rice to negotiate with the junta leader General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.

Moss is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and has taught at the London School of Economics (LSE) and at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). He holds a PhD from SOAS and a BA from Tufts University. Moss is currently Senior Fellow and Chief Operating Officer at the Center for Global Development, a think-tank in Washington DC.

Moss applied the Page 69 Test to The Golden Hour and reported the following:

On page 69 of The Golden Hour, the State Dept crisis manager Judd Ryker is sitting in his car in the CIA parking lot talking on the phone with a lobbyist who represents the President of Mali, who has just been overthrown in a coup. She’s urging him to stand up for what’s right and not allow worries over terrorism to let the US government to abandon democracy. It’s a classic dilemma faced by policymakers during real crises and a driving tension in the plot. A great window into the story!

Visit Todd Moss' website.

Writers Read: Todd Moss.

--Marshal Zeringue