She applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, Before She Was Found, and reported the following:
From page 69:Visit Heather Gudenkauf's website.No matter how determined I was to leave work at a reasonable time, I got home well after nine o’clock that evening. As usual, the house was dark and quiet. I immediately peeled off my clothes to shower but couldn’t wash away the thoughts of Cora Landry and what happened to her in the train yard. The world was a dangerous place even for a little girl from small-town Iowa.This section of the novel is written in the perspective of Dr. Madeline Gideon, a psychiatrist who has been charged with working with Cora Landry who was left to die in an abandoned train yard after a brutal attack. Dr. Gideon uses her expertise in order to help twelve-year-old Cora process and come to terms with what happened to her that night. As she gets to know Cora and the details surrounding the assault emerge, Dr. Gideon realizes that the events in the train yard are more disturbing anything she’s ever seen before.
Just like all of my novels, Before She Was Found was sparked by real-life events in the news including an urban legend. It also explores what happens when the power of peer pressure, the intense need for belonging and the dangers of online predatory behavior all collide. Along with Dr. Gideon’s voice, the novel is told through the eyes of a mother and a grandfather of two young girls, Cora’s journal entries, police reports, text messages and online forums. Each viewpoint is pieced together in order to reveal what happened before and after the tragic event in the train yard.
Coffee with a Canine: Heather Gudenkauf and Maxine.
Coffee with a Canine: Heather Gudenkauf & Lolo.
Writers Read: Heather Gudenkauf.
--Marshal Zeringue
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