"In An Instant"

Suzanne Redfearn is the award-winning author of three novels: Hush Little Baby, No Ordinary Life, and In An Instant. Born and raised on the east coast, Redfearn moved to California when she was fifteen. She currently lives in Laguna Beach with her husband where they own two restaurants: Lumberyard and Slice Pizza & Beer. In addition to being an author, Redfearn is an architect specializing in residential and commercial design.

Redfearn applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, In An Instant, and reported the following:

From page 69:

My mom and Kyle realize quickly hiking straight up the way we fell is not an option. The icy sheet of granite offers little in terms of footholds and less in terms of shelter from the fierce wind that blasts against its face the moment you rise above the tree line and which could easily blow even the strongest climber to their death.

Instead, my mom and Kyle traverse at an angle, my mom being careful to keep the glow of the sun behind them to ensure they are heading north, the general direction of town. When possible, they travel upward, but often as not, they hit an impasse and are forced to back- track to lower ground.

At first my mom hikes in front, but soon it becomes clear that Kyle has better traction, and he takes over the lead. On the steeper parts, he digs in and uses my mom’s scarf to help her up.

They make slow, inconsistent progress, which I can see is leading them closer to the road, but they have no way to know this. My mom’s lips are blistered and her cheeks raw, but the exertion seems to have warmed her, and only her feet appear in pain from the cold.

Kyle seems unaffected, or perhaps he just isn’t the type to complain. Stoically he marches forward, forging a path and looking back often to check on my mom. And the more I watch him, the more my admiration grows and the more I find myself wondering about him, about who he is, his family, his girlfriend, how he ended up living in Big Bear, what he’s thinking about, whether he’s scared. It seems so strange that he is part of this and that we know so little about him.

This page is still near the beginning of the story, after an accident that tumbles the narrator, Finn, and ten others over the side of a mountain during a torrential snowstorm. Finn died in the accident and is now looking down on the survivors. This chapter leads to an extraordinary scene between Finn’s mom and Kyle, the boy she is hiking out with to get help. Kyle is a stranger, a young man they picked up on the side of the road because his car had broken down. The question Finn’s mom will face is how much is his life worth when weighed against those of loved ones she left at the scene of the accident. And then, how does she live with the consequences of the decision she makes after.

Visit Suzanne Redfearn's website, Facebook page, and Twitter perch.

Coffee with a Canine: Suzanne Redfearn and Cooper.

My Book, The Movie: In an Instant.

--Marshal Zeringue