"A Darker Mischief"

Derek Milman is the author of Scream All Night and Swipe Right for Murder. A graduate of Yale Drama School, Milman has performed on stages across the country, and appeared in numerous TV shows and films, working with two Academy Award-winning film directors. He lives in Brooklyn.

Milman applied the Page 69 Test to his new novel, A Darker Mischief, and reported the following:

Page 69 of A Darker Mischief is the first page of Chapter 8, entitled Black Roses. It's a very good window into the world of the book, its tone, atmosphere, and all its inherent dangers. Browsers would definitely get a good sense of the book from the page. The page places Cal, our MC, in class the following morning after a mysterious and fairly luxe secret society gala, where he really meets and connects to a fellow sophomore transfer student named Luke Kim for the first time. It's the first time the two boys have really actively flirted, and Luke, a troubled street artist, draws his tag on Cal's hand. But it was dark out, so Cal didn't see what it was. In class, sitting across from Luke, Cal examines it and sees it's a dead baby in a womb. This is the first time we actively see Luke getting underneath Cal's skin and piercing his thoughts on a deeper level, parallel to the rush process of the secret society, which is doing the same. As the page progresses we see Cal begin to formulate a dark plan to impress the secret society, The Society of Seven Eyes, or SoSE, since they've urged him to take more risks with his initiation rituals. Being accepted is key to Cal's survival at Essex Academy, since he's a poor kid from a small Mississippi town and has had a hard time fitting into the affluent world of Essex, surrounded by the children of America's elite.

Visit Derek Milman's website.

My Book, The Movie: Scream All Night.

The Page 69 Test: Swipe Right for Murder.

My Book, The Movie: Swipe Right for Murder.

Q&A with Derek Milman.

--Marshal Zeringue