Although a native Californian, George is an avid Anglophile (perhaps from listening to hours and hours of Beatles records as a teenager) and visits England regularly, usually to indulge in his other passion, country walking.
Before taking up mystery writing, George oversaw communication programs for large corporate clients including Lockheed, Merck and Nissan. He lives in Pasadena, California, with his husband.
George applied the Page 69 Test to A Lethal Walk in Lakeland and reported the following::
On page 69, my main character, Rick "Chase" Chasen, and his good friend Billie Mondreau, are chatting at lunch with two twin brothers (Pratt and Parker Upton) who are part of his walking group, going across Britain's Coast to Coast trail in the Lake District.Visit Nicholas George's website.
This is actually a good, representative page; it shows how Chase and Billie learn information about their fellow walkers through casual conversation, both on the trail and when they stop for meals. It establishes that the brothers are from Texas. Pratt explains some of the reasons why they chose to take this walk (his sister is mourning her recently deceased husband; his brother Parker is battling PTSD). It also reveals that Pratt's having money problems, as is Billie, and that he is wearing a unique neckband. These are all clues! This page gives readers a glimpse of Pratt's genial personality, which we learn (elsewhere) is very much at odds with his brother's. It also reveals that Chase, though an American, is well-versed on British culture (he explains the difference between American and British beers).
I hadn't expected to find this page that rich in detail, even though it may not come across that way to the casual reader. Of course, as an author I try to make every word and every piece of information count, but that is often easier said than done!
My Book, The Movie: A Lethal Walk in Lakeland.
--Marshal Zeringue
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