New York Journal of Books, San Francisco Journal of Books and more; earned spots on Best Of lists including PureWow, POPSUGAR, the Strand, Suspense, and Big Thrill magazines; and received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, and Shelf Awareness. Four of her novels have been Indie Next Picks. Milchman's short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies as well as Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and a recent piece on touring appeared in the Agatha award winning collection Promophobia. Milchman's new series with Thomas & Mercer features psychologist Arles Shepherd, who has the power to save the most troubled and vulnerable children, but must battle demons of her own to do it. Milchman is a member of the Rogue Women Writers and lives in the Hudson Valley with her family.
She applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, The Usual Silence, and reported the following:
I love this test in part because sixty-nine is one of my lucky numbers, and also because it happens to work uncannily well for my new novel, The Usual Silence, getting one of the most important characters on the page, and putting the deepest theme of the novel on full display.Learn more about the book and author at Jenny Milchman's website.
Let me back up.
The Usual Silence is about Arles Shepherd, a psychologist who treats a ten-year-old Autistic child named Geary who holds the key to her own troubled past. The story is told in three points of view, although before the twist is revealed at the end, it seems as if it might be four.
On page 69 Geary and his mother see a psychotherapist who is about to reject Geary as a patient. He refers Geary to Dr. Shepherd, but he has an ulterior motive for doing so. In order not to reveal his own complicity—and duplicity—in the matter, the psychotherapist tries to overpower Geary’s mom mentally, really gaslight her. But Geary’s mom sniffs him out. She knows something is wrong and takes her son far away before they can be sent.
As a writer, I have my own version of the Page 69 Test, which is to ask as my book goes through revision after revision and iterative drafts whether each element performs double, triple, even quadruple duty. Does each detail further plot, deepen character, add thematically, and contribute something surprising, perhaps a beautiful line of prose?
Once a book hits that benchmark, then every page should be a great exemplar of the story.
Yet somehow page 69 is a particularly good one, spotlighting the poignant, heartbreaking situation that is mental health care today, hinting at a triumphant reversal to come, keeping the reader in suspense—how will Geary find his way to Dr. Shepherd?—while illuminating the novel’s theme of women who take their power back to staggering results.
My Book, The Movie: Cover of Snow.
The Page 69 Test: Cover of Snow.
The Page 69 Test: Ruin Falls.
My Book, The Movie: Ruin Falls.
My Book, The Movie: The Second Mother.
The Page 69 Test: The Second Mother.
Q&A with Jenny Milchman.
My Book, The Movie: The Usual Silence.
--Marshal Zeringue