"Poppy Redfern and the Fatal Flyers"

Tessa Arlen is the author of the critically acclaimed Lady Montfort mystery series—Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman was a finalist for the 2016 Agatha Award Best First Novel. She is also the author of Poppy Redfern: A Woman of World War II mystery series. And the author of the historical fiction: In Royal Service to the Queen.

Arlen lives in the Southwest with her family and two corgis where she gardens in summer and writes in winter.

She applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, Poppy Redfern and the Fatal Flyers, the second title of the A Woman of World War II series, and reported the following:

From page 69:

It was a forlorn group of women who were gathered around the long trestle table by the mess windows looking out on the airfield.

“Morning, Poppy. Breakfast? We usually have a large one because it might be the only chance we have to eat today.” June’s face was very pale, her eyes were red-rimmed with fatigue, but she was lacing into a plate of eggs, mushrooms, and what looked like some sort of tinned corned beef. It was a deadly-looking array of overcooked and greasy food. I shuddered. Even before the war, when an English cooked breakfast was the envy of the world, I never understood how people managed to eat platefuls of protein first thing in the morning.

“I would love a couple of slices of toast and a cup of coffee,” I said as Bess planted herself underneath June’s chair and looked up at her with a particularly yearning expression. She was rewarded with a corner of toast with scrambled eggs that looked like pale yellow rubber.

“No coffee for me; I’ll take tea,” Annie told the mess steward. “I want this war over soon, so we can have a good strong cup of real coffee with lots of sugar. What do they make this stuff with?” She had pushed away her coffee cup. “Parched acorns?”

Grable, after lifting her head briefly to say good morning, had gone back to staring bleakly out the window as she sipped coffee, and Annie became absorbed with making a toast sandwich with what looked like fried Spam, but her heart wasn’t in it. The Spam slithered out from between the toast, and she pushed it aside with an impatient exclamation. None of them looked like they had slept well; their faces were wan, their eyes clouded with exhaustion. If there was someone sitting at this table who had caused Edwina’s accident, her conscience had given her a rough going-over last night.

The Page 69 test worked quite well: it certainly gives us a good idea of what it would be like to eat breakfast in England during WWII!

But there is something else going on here too! The paragraphs from this page sum up the reactions and shock of a group of women pilots whose comrade, Edwina, was killed in an accident flying a Spitfire for a propaganda about the glamorous Air Transport Auxiliary pilots: The Attagirls.

A bit of background on the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA): The women pilots of the ATA whose wartime job was to deliver planes from factories to military airfields were only glamorous Attagirls to the outsider. In reality their days were long, and often dangerous. Seasonal fog and ice storms contributed to the danger of flight particularly if you were delivering an open cockpit Tiger Moth to Scotland. The barrage balloons that protected the airway above military airfields were pulled down when friendly planes approached, but if there was an air raid warning were immediately released to provide a navigational nightmare. And not all air raid ground staff were adept at telling the difference between a German Heinkel or a British Hurricane from the ground and in their ignorance often opened fire on a British or American plane.

But it is the last sentence that gives us a clue that all is not well. “None of them looked like they had slept well; their faces were wan, their eyes clouded with exhaustion. If there was someone sitting at this table who had caused Edwina’s accident, her conscience had given her a rough going-over last night.”

This observation is made by the protagonist, Poppy Redfern, who is a script writer for the Crown Film Unit which made short films about civilians who do brave things in wartime. When Edwina appeared to crash her Spitfire Poppy was standing on the edge of the airfield as the film crew shot Edwina’s demonstration of skill at piloting a Spitfire. And to Poppy’s observant mind there was something about the dead pilot’s demeanor before she flew that day and her relationship with some of her ATA friends that caused her concern. It is these perceived signals that prompts Poppy to eat breakfast with this group of close friends before they leave to deliver planes, to see how they are faring after the accident. But little does she realize that her premonitions of danger are justified. Within hours of the Attagirls departure another of them falls to her death in what will also be termed as an “accident.”

Visit Tessa Arlen's website.

See Tessa Arlen’s top five historical novels.

Coffee with a Canine: Tessa Arlen & Daphne.

The Page 69 Test: Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman.

My Book, The Movie: Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman.

The Page 69 Test: Death Sits Down to Dinner.

My Book, The Movie: Death Sits Down to Dinner.

The Page 69 Test: A Death by Any Other Name.

The Page 69 Test: Death of an Unsung Hero.

Writers Read: Tessa Arlen (November 2019).

The Page 69 Test: Poppy Redfern and the Midnight Murders.

Q&A with Tessa Arlen.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Ruinsong"

Julia Ember is the author of The Seafarer’s Kiss duology and Ruinsong. Her work has been featured in USA Today, Bustle, Book Riot and Autostraddle, among many other prominent outlets. Ember has a lifelong appreciation for history and classic literature, and holds an MLitt in Medieval Literature from the University of St. Andrews. She currently lives in Seattle with her wife and two very fluffy cats.

Ember applied the Page 69 Test to Ruinsong and reported the following:

From page 69:

After so many years at the palace with Elene, I know her well. She might have forgiven the viscount for abandoning their love, but she could never have forgiven his betrayal of her ambition.

Elene likes to say that when she murdered the old queen, mounted the viscount's charred corpse on a pike in the city square, and took the throne, she'd been restoring control to where it rightfully belonged. After all, the divine quartet gave magic to us mages, not the noble folk.

And surely, if the goddesses had meant for the nobles to rule, Elene would purr, they would have given them more than the delusion of power.

I have faith in the divine quartet and know that we are all instruments of their will, but even I have a hard time believing that the goddesses wanted Bordea to become what it is.

I stumble through the overgrown courtyard to the hospital's door. The nuns are too busy with their patients to maintain the garden's former splendor, so weeds grow through the cobblestones, and the fountain is cracked, water pumping directly onto the walkway to create a muddy swamp. A film of algae grows over the front steps. I edge carefully through the garden on tiptoe, trying to keep my feet as dry as possible.

I think the test works in some ways and fails in others for my book! I think it gives us a great glimpse into the villain's psyche from the protagonist's perspective, but because most of the page describes the villain's backstory, I'm not sure it gives the reader the best understanding of the book's plot or the main character's motivations. It does, however, provide some insight into the political dynamics of the kingdom and the workings of the magic system!

Visit Julia Ember's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Prince of Mournful Thoughts and Other Stories"

Caroline Kim was born in South Korea. She has an MFA in Poetry from the University of Michigan, where she won a Hopwood Award and an MA in Fiction from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was a James A. Michener Fellow. She was nominated by Jellyfish Review for a 2019 Best of the Net award. Kim lives in Walnut Creek, California with her husband and three children.

She applied the Page 69 Test to her new book, The Prince of Mournful Thoughts and Other Stories, and reported the following:

Page 69 will find the reader close to the beginning of “Seoul,” the fifth story in the collection. The Korean War has just broken out, surprising a young boy and his family.

An excerpt:

Sung’s family was surprised to find that they were on the northern side of the line dividing Korea. They were happy the Japanese were gone but wary of the Communists. They just wanted to be left alone. What did it matter who controlled the government? Communism. Democracy. Really, who cared? What they wanted was so simple: to be able to eat and breathe freely, work their small li of land, have children and grandchildren, live and die facing the same sunset they had watched all their lives.

The changes came slowly over the next five years and were mostly seen in the larger town of Kumchon. Posters of Stalin and Kim Il-sung appeared pasted on municipal buildings; sometimes Russians passed through, tall and thickly bearded with eyes of startling bright colors. Sung’s family kept their heads low, gave monthly to the soldiers who came to collect their share of rice and vegetables, and hoped to escape notice. Life went on. Instead of giving to the provincial office, they now gave to the Communists.

Given that this is a collection of short stories, I was surprised at how well this test worked. The above excerpt shows how suddenly your life can change due to nothing you’ve done. It’s shocking at first, but then you get down to the business of figuring out how to survive in your new reality. This idea appears in many of my stories. Ultimately, how my characters deal with their new lives reveals who they are. I’m just fascinated by how anybody gets through life. In the story above, Sung and his family escape south, ending up in Seoul. Even though the capital is chaotic and terrifying at times, Sung still feels the excitement of a young boy discovering a big city. He suffers and experiences joy while trying to remain a decent human being. In the end, I think that’s all we can really hope for.

Visit Caroline Kim's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany"

Lori Nelson Spielman is a former speech pathologist, guidance counselor, and teacher of homebound students. She enjoys fitness running, traveling, and reading, though writing is her true passion. Her first novel, The Life List, has been published in thirty countries and optioned by Fox 2000. Her second novel, Sweet Forgiveness, was also an international bestseller. She lives in Michigan with her husband and their very spoiled puppy.

She applied the Page 69 Test to her third book, The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany, and reported the following:

On page 69 of The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany, the entire Fontana Family is gathered in Nonna Rosa’s dining room for Sunday dinner. An anxious Emilia announces that she and her cousin Lucy are going to Italy.

Heads turn. Confused looks are exchanged. Slowly, my family find their voices.

“Why is she going to Italy?”

“Is it safe?”

“Not for a young woman.”

“Europe is teeming with crime these days.”

“Yes,” Aunt Carol agrees. “Terrorists.”

"And gypsies. They’d steal the blood from your veins if you let them.”

The situation is made worse when Lucy confesses that they’ll be traveling with Aunt Poppy, the black sheep of the family.

A silence takes over the room, so profound you could hear dust drop. I run a finger over my scar. Finally, Nonna’s chair scrapes against the wood floor.

Wordlessly, she rises. Gripping her espresso cup, she moves into the living room, as if she hasn’t heard a word I’ve said.

I’d say the Page 69 test works fairly well in the case of The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany. It’s a story about a 200-year-old curse on second-born Fontana women, dooming them to lives without true love. Two cousins, Emilia and Lucy, resign themselves to never finding lasting romance, that is, until their estranged great aunt invites them to Italy, vowing that the curse will be lifted on her 80th birthday, when she’ll meet her true love on the steps of the Ravello Cathedral and break the curse, once and for all.

Though page 69 fails to mention the second-daughter curse directly, we hear boisterous laughter when little Mimi asks if Emmie has a boyfriend. It also illustrates the conflict between the elder family members and the younger Emilia and Lucy. And when Poppy’s name is thrown into the mix, the tension escalates greatly. Overall, page 69 is a fairly good snapshot of the book. Thanks for letting me test Marshall McLuhan's theory!

Learn more about the book and author at Lori Nelson Spielman's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Turning Tide"

Catriona McPherson was born in Scotland and lived there until immigrating to the US in 2010. She writes the multi-award-winning Dandy Gilver series, set in the old country in the 1930s, as well as a strand of multi-award-winning psychological thrillers. Very different awards. After eight years in the new country, she kicked off the humorous Last Ditch Motel series, which takes a wry look at California life. These are not multi-award-winning, but the first two won the same award in consecutive years, which still isn’t too shabby.

McPherson is a proud lifetime member and former national president of Sisters in Crime.

She applied the Page 69 Test to her latest Dandy Gilver mystery, The Turning Tide, and reported the following:

From page 69:

… certainly concerned with Vesper. Why? Who owns the island? And who owns her cottage? Who is the girl’s employer? Whoever it is, why doesn’t he just sack her and put her out? I know it’s brutal and I’m not recommending it, but it doesn’t make sense that a girl so clearly incapable of carrying out her job is managing to scupper all the plans to turn Cramond Island into Valhalla.’

‘True,’ Alec said.

‘And besides, it makes no sense that the local publican is so dearly concerned with a few holiday cottages cut off from her pub by a coastal causeway. Why does she care? Why does Miss Speir care if it comes to that? And then there’s this place.’ I laid my hands against the stones of the tower.

‘What about it?’

‘If Miss Speir needs money, or cares deeply about Cramond, or both, and has got this eyesore sitting in her garden, why is she merely selling off the stone?’

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Alec said. ‘There are so many new houses going up in Edinburgh these days, nasty little things to be sure, but they’d be improved no end with a few mediaeval stones here and there. And this is a bit close to her own house for her to be fixing the roof and getting tenants in.’

I shook my head. ‘What about these mythic tourists?’ I said. ‘Americans, even. If there was a castle in the offing.’

‘It would take a large investment to get a crumbling tower fit for Americans,’ Alec said. ‘But speaking of the tourists: I find it odd that an island earmarked for rich guests to lark about on has been turned over to potato trials. If we’re airing puzzles.’

‘We certainly need to speak to these lads who’re vouching for Vesper.’

‘Apart from anything else they can confirm whether or not Peter Haslett was drunk.’

Hmmmmmmmm. It’s not the easiest page to slip into as far as content goes, is it? What with two people – Dandy and Alec – talking about three others – Vesper, Miss Speir, and Peter Haslett – and flinging out all those questions and theories.

On the other hand, it gives a good impression of the tone of the book and sets it firmly in its historical context. Those “nasty little houses” going up all over Edinburgh in the 1930s were solid, stone-built bungalows set in large gardens, which now sell for millions. And the people who live in them are complaining about “nasty little townhouses” ruining the city. Plus ça change.

I was tickled to see American visitors get a mention on the page picked at random for this post. Luring tourists from the US was as dear a hope for Brits then as it is now, and I know from when I used to live in a county bristling with castles (Galloway) that moats, drawbridges and crenulations are a key part of the deal. As for “getting a crumbling tower fit for Americans”, I’ve been here ten years now, and all I can say is I could never go back to British plumbing, castle or no castle!

Visit Catriona McPherson's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Turning Tide.

--Marshal Zeringue

"This Is Not a Ghost Story"

Andrea Portes is a bestselling novelist. Her novels include: Hick, Bury This, Anatomy of a Misfit, The Fall of Butterflies, Liberty, Henry & Eva and the Castle on the Cliff, Henry & Eva and the Famous People Ghosts.

Portes applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, This is Not a Ghost Story, and reported the following:

From page 69:

Suddenly I am anxious at the idea of talking to her. Anxious at the idea of talking to anyone… The room seems smaller, shrinking somehow, and suddenly I am terrified of any interaction whatsoever.

This happens just after Daffodil has made an elaborate day-dream scenario of the waitress at the local diner. It’s a wonderful, cinematic, zombie-including day dream… full of life and love of character.

But then, almost immediately, Daffodil suddenly shuts down and has to leave, running out of the diner.

Page 69 isn’t representative of the book, really. It’s a moment of the book, a dalliance. It does, however, give the reader a tiny peek into the machinations of Daffodil, our protagonist. She is, in one moment, brimming with life, full of love and understanding and imagination and wonder. Then, almost immediately, all of that energy seems to turn in on itself… to cannibalize itself. Daffodil has this kind of psyche, restless and brilliant and scared of its own shadow.

Visit Andrea Portes's website.

My Book, The Movie: This Is Not a Ghost Story.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Infernal"

Mark de Jager isn’t sure if his love of writing led to his love of gaming or vice versa, but his earliest memories involve both. He now spends his time trying to find a balance between these and working a full time job in banking, a process made slightly easier by his coffee addiction. An ex-MP in the South African army, de Jager now lives in Kent with his wife Liz (herself a published author) and their lazy dog in a house that is equal parts library and home.

He applied the Page 69 Test to the US debut of his novel Infernal and reported the following:

From page 69:

‘I am Stratus...’ I tried to say the rest of it; I really wanted to, but I couldn’t. His magic was sly and cunning, but it wasn’t strong enough to reach a secret that was buried as deep within my mind as that was. ‘I am going towards the city.’

‘Which city, Stratus?’

‘I ... I don’t know. The closest one.’

‘Why, Stratus?’

‘I seek the counsel of your wise men.’ I had an inkling of what he would ask me next, and I really didn’t want him to ask it but had no way of stopping him. Every word that the spell coaxed from me strengthened its intent and power, like a chain being forged link by link.

‘What is the counsel that you seek, Stratus?’

‘I ...’ The strain of my mental struggle against the compulsion was spilling into the physical word, the chain that linked my wrists rattling as my body tensed. ‘I want to know .. who .. what I am.’ ‘Who do you think you are, Stratus?’

First thing to say is that the person questioning Stratus in the extract above is using a very formulaic way of speaking because it’s part of an ongoing spell!

That said, this is actually a very fitting exchange for this test. In this scene Stratus, who had been wandering through a war zone, has been captured and is being interrogated by a wizard. He’s confused, and as the wizard’s spell burrows deeper into his mind, trying to pry the truth from him, he’s afraid of what it will uncover and what it might mean for both of them.

The one certain truth is that he doesn’t actually know who, or what, he is at this point. Even as he’s trying to fight the wizard’s influence, he’s finding out more about himself, and that’s a key concept for his story.

Follow Mark de Jager on Facebook and Twitter.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Bright Shining World"

Josh Swiller is the author of Bright Shining World, a YA eco-thriller published by Knopf. He is the author of The Unheard: A Memoir of Deafness and Africa. He lives with his family in the forest in Upstate New York.

Swiller applied the Page 69 Test to Bright Shining World and reported the following:

From page 69:

“Okay,” I said. “Let’s talk this through. A tennis ball is following you.”

“Yes.”

“One with T. rex arms.”

“Don’t mock me.”

“Four feet tall.” I held out a hand. “So, about this high? Or this?”

“Don’t.”

“With big feet or just big shoes?”

“Don’t! Don’t make fun of me!” Her lip curled. “You think I don’t know this is crazy? You think I’m not scared?”

“Have you asked her to go play with a wall?”

“Of course I tried that! Many times! She cries if I do. So loud I can’t even think. But I’ve got things to do, Wallace! I’ve got the SAT! I’ve got plans! I can’t take care of a freaking tennis ball!”

Sometimes you hear something so strange that you question the very act of hearing things. Like, maybe words didn’t mean what you thought they did. Their meanings changed overnight, and now the word love is actually another way of saying egg salad. Or maybe…

Yeahhh, this page captures a lot of the mood of Bright Shining World, a novel about how relentless planetary destruction is starting to really warp and deplete our inner lives – and what, goddamn it, we can do about that. Wallace Cole, the narrator, has just arrived to a strange, hysteria-stricken town and has a crush on Megan Rose, who is describing her encounter with, yes, a walking tennis ball. Megan Rose to this point has appeared to be the stereotypical high school superachiever and Wallace has been a loner for so long his best efforts at empathy are full of sarcasm. But she is not who she appears to be. And he does really care. This interaction captures how they’re dancing around each other while at the same time uncovering a mystery bigger than they can grasp.

I love characters who are fun and complicated and alive. They’re fun to read and easy to root for! I’m hopeful this page captures that.

Visit Josh Swiller's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Northern Wrath"

Thilde Kold Holdt is a Viking, traveler and a polyglot fluent in Danish, French, English and Korean. As a writer, she is an avid researcher. This is how she first came to row for hours upon hours on a Viking warship. She loved the experience so much that she has sailed with the Viking longship the Sea Stallion ever since. Another research trip brought her to South Korea where she also learned the art of traditional Korean archery. Born in Denmark, Holdt has lived in many places and countries, taking a bit of each culture with her.

She applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, Northern Wrath, the first book in The Hanged God Trilogy, and reported the following:

Should an eager reader flip open Northern Wrath and land on page 69, they would find only a few lines to digest. They would land at the end of a chapter and this particular chapter is from the point of view of a minor character in Northern Wrath. One might therefore assume that it would not be representative of the novel as a whole, and yet… On this very page, the reader would discover the heart of the initial conflict of the novel:

‘If there really were southerners this far north in Jutland, someone would have seen them and told us,’ a woman finally dismissed.

‘Someone, just did.’ Siv’s answer killed the laughter.

While page 69 might not yield the most extensive representation of what the book and its characters are like, it gets to the heart of the matter and presents the conflict integral to the story. Southerners are attacking, how will the villagers of Ash-hill respond to this threat?

On this short page we also get a glimpse of the temperament of two of our protagonists: Siv and Hilda. They both appear strong and decisive in the snippet.

Pontius bit his nails. They might ruin this, he thought, as he watched Siv chase after Hilda down the road. In their womanly stubbornness, they would bring on the destruction of Ash-Hill.

Many readers have noted that the women in Northern Wrath carry the story in more ways than one, and so, it is notable that the strength of two of the female protagonists is precisely the focus of page 69 of Northern Wrath.

Visit Thilde Kold Holdt's website.

Q&A with Thilde Kold Holdt.

--Marshal Zeringue

"A Frenzy of Sparks"

Kristin Fields grew up in Queens, which she likes to think of as a small town next to a big city. She studied writing at Hofstra University, where she was awarded the Eugene Schneider Award for Short Fiction. After college, Fields found herself working on a historic farm, as a high school English teacher, designing museum education programs, and is currently leading an initiative to bring gardens to public schools in New York City, where she lives with her husband.

Fields applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, A Frenzy of Sparks, and reported the following:

From page 69:

The teakettle whistled on the stove downstairs, and her mother hurried off. Gia blinked away the sun as a new round of counting started from the yard. Leo was doing push-ups while Eddie stood over him, sipping from a coffee mug in his favorite black-and-white tracksuit. From high up, his scalp was visible through his hair, and it creeped her out to see the lumps in his skull. Leo’s T-shirt was plastered to his back. His arms wobbled, but when he finished, Eddie demanded fifty more until Leo puked in the grass.

The whole thing felt like an episode of The Twilight Zone.

Gia made her bed, put her uniform on, everything she would’ve done anyway without being told. She even opened the bag of makeup and did what she could. The concealer erased the dark circles under her eyes, but the eyeshadow made her look punched, so she wiped it off and rolled lip gloss on until it was sticky enough to catch bugs, pleased with herself for trying. She took an osprey feather from her drawer and put it in her pocket for good luck.

Wow! I’ve always believed that every word, sentence, and page of a novel should be working towards the greater goal of the story. A Frenzy of Sparks is a coming of age story for 13-year-old Gia in 1965 after drugs are introduced to her close-knit community. Gia is beginning to understand that as a woman, that the world is not open to her in the same way it is for her brother, and that the expectations her parents have of her are very different than those of her older brother, Leo.

Just a little before the excerpt above, Gia and Leo have had a wild night out with their cousins. Leo wound up being taken home by the police. They were all drinking. This is especially embarrassing for their father, who is also a police officer, and so both kids are expected to tow the line now. Leo, by exercising, which shows the old world Italian American belief that men should be strong. But for Gia, she opens up the makeup bag her mother has been encouraging her to use, because girls should be pretty and well behaved.

But Gia loves nature. She is wild at heart. She tucks the osprey feather in her pocket for luck to carry a little of her wild with her in a tame world. It’s a beautiful reflection of who she is.

Conclusion: A Frenzy of Sparks passes the page 69 test!

Visit Kristin Fields's website.

My Book, The Movie: A Frenzy of Sparks.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Chimera Code"

Over the years, Wayne Santos has written copy for advertising agencies, scripts for television, and articles for magazines. He’s lived in Canada, Thailand and Singapore, traveling to many countries around South East Asia. His first love has always been science fiction and fantasy, and while he regularly engaged with it in novels, comics, anime and video games, it wasn’t until 1996, with his first short story in the Canadian speculative fiction magazine On Spec that he aimed towards becoming a novelist.

He now lives in Canada, in Hamilton, ON with his wife. When he’s not writing, he is likely to be found reading, playing video games, watching anime, or trying to calm his cat down.

Santos applied the Page 69 Test to his new novel, The Chimera Code, and reported the following:

From page 69:

“Is it really him?” Cloke said. “Or just some convincing code pretending it’s him?”

“If the code believes it, does it matter?” Victor asked.

“Can code believe?”

“And thus the circular argument completes its circuit,” Victor said.

An appropriately serious, older looking, formally dressed attendant entered the room and greeted Cloke. “You’re the executor?”

She nodded and indicated Victor and Zee. “They’re here for moral support.”

“Of course, of course,” the attendant said. “Our bandwidth here is pretty good, so we can broadcast a sim signal to you wirelessly, though we still have cabling for a direct jack if you prefer. Always cleaner and crisper, obviously.”

“No,” Cloke said, indicating the big altar with a nod of her head. “We’ll use the display; I don’t have any implants for receiving.”

The attendant’s face went into confused shock, mirroring Zee’s own feelings.

“No receivers of any kind? At all?” Zee asked.

Cloke shook her head. “Virgin.” She lifted her hair and turned her back to Zee to show the clean, unbroken flesh of the back of her neck.

“I assume your display is in working order,” Victor said.

The attendant looked to the altar that dominated the room. “It’s normally just used for saying a few words, accenting the presentation with some visuals, video reminiscing and the like… but yes, it’ll work. Most people prefer the first meeting to occur in simulation. It’s… a gentler transition.”

“Holography will be fine,” Cloke said. “I don’t feel like applying saline paste to my head, and I don’t know if you even have any analog interfaces lying around.”

I think the Page 69 test gives a decent glimpse into a major aspect of the novel, and that’s the way different kinds of tech have pervaded everyday life. This scene involves the characters visiting a kind of “funeral home,” except that instead of burying the dead, they electronically resurrect a digital copy of the deceased, if they purchased that service.

It’s a fair representative of the world building that takes place in the book, but, being a quieter scene, doesn’t cover the explosions and property damage that make up the other, significant chunk. It does, however, hint at the difficulties faced by a 22nd century combat mage in a world largely dominated by technology.

Visit Wayne Santos's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Ana on the Edge"

A. J. Sass (he/they) is a writer, editor, and competitive skater. A long-time figure skater, he has passed his U.S. Figure Skating Senior Moves in the Field and Free Skate tests, medaled twice at the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships, and currently dabbles in ice dance. Sass lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his boyfriend and two cats who act like dogs.

The author applied the Page 69 Test to Ana on the Edge, his first novel, and reported the following:

Page 69 in Ana on the Edge is near the beginning of chapter 7. It is set during the first evening that main character Ana, the reigning US Juvenile figure skating champion, will be assisting with her new rink’s skate-school classes in exchange for free ice-time for her own training. Ana is having a conversation with the skate-school director, Corinne, about her new responsibilities as a class assistant. At the beginning of their conversation, Ana has the following thought: “If Corinne is the director, that means she’s a big reason I get free ice-time.” Near the end of the page, Corinne makes a request: “We’re lucky that someone so accomplished is giving back to our community. I also hope you might consider performing in our end-of-session recital …” Readers who are curious whether or not Ana agrees to perform will have to read on to page 70.

I initially felt that the test failed for my book because this page is largely a setup for Ana learning there is a skate-school student who uses a different name and pronouns than what is on the class roster, which occurs just a couple of pages later. There’s nothing interesting about learning the ropes of assisting with skate-school classes, right?

But after I sat with it and reread the page a couple of times, I’ve come to a different conclusion. Because this page highlights one of the major conflicts throughout Ana’s story: finances. Ana is a rising star in an incredibly expensive sport that her single mother works hard to pay for. Affluent athletes don’t need to volunteer their time teaching group classes in exchange for free ice to train on. They don’t have to consider taking a skate-school director up on her request to consider performing in an end-of-session recital, which also takes precious time away from training. While we really only get that one line of Ana’s thoughts, I think it’s enough to pique some readers’ interest in wondering why twelve-year-old Ana feels the need to help pay for her training in the first place. Reading the rest of the book will give them that answer.

Ultimately, if all readers know about this book before reading page 69 is based on the skating-centric cover, this page fulfills the expectation that this book will focus on that particular sport since it discusses not only Ana’s training setup but a potential obstacle to having enough time to train. For readers who’ve read the inside dust jacket flap and know that the story also explores gender identity, this test might fail, however, as page 69 doesn’t address any aspect of Ana’s internal identity. The test’s success is really subjective, like so much else in the world of literature (and the world of figure skating, for that matter!).

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--Marshal Zeringue