"Little Voices"

Vanessa Lillie has fifteen years of marketing and communications experience and enjoys organizing book events and literary happenings in the Providence, Rhode Island area. Originally from Oklahoma, Lillie calls Providence, Rhode Island home with her husband and sloth obsessed son.

Her debut thriller, Little Voices, was an Amazon bestseller and number one psychological thriller for all of September 2019. Little Voices received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal as well as must-read lists in Real Simple, Refinery29, Cosmopolitan UK, and Bookish. It was also named one of the best debut thrillers of 2019 by Bolo Books.

Lillie applied the Page 69 Test to Little Voices and reported the following:

From page 69:

Ten minutes later, I return to him in the kitchen. Ester is slumped in the crook of his arm as he sips coffee with the other hand.

“Careful,” I snap, letting my nerves out on this silly situation. “You could burn her.”

“I’ve got it,” he says, defensive as I quickly take her back into my arms.

I nuzzle her as anxiety punches my gut until it finally deflates into embarrassment. “I’m sorry,” I say. “I’m nervous.”

He raises his eyebrows.

“No, I’ll drive myself.”

He bows his head to the side as if he knew I’d say that. “Call me when you’re back. Tell Dr. Lauren hello.”

I kiss him on his smoothly shaven cheek before he can notice my eyes filling with tears.

I really do hate lying to him.

This passage makes me smile because that moment between a husband and wife and the coffee came from my own postpartum experience. I walked into the kitchen and my husband was holding our baby and sipping his coffee, and I made myself not snatch the baby out of his hands.

However, that’s where the similarities end. In this scene, the main character, Devon, is lying to her husband. She promised to go to therapy, but is pretending that's why she's leaving her house for the first time since she returned from the hospital after giving birth. Instead, she's going to investigate the murder of her friend. This is a journey of not only finding justice, but also rediscovering the person Devon was before the baby.

It feels right that a small part of this scene is rooted in my real, post-baby life. I wrote Little Voices as a new mom who wanted to see motherhood at the heart of a thriller. Taking my own struggles and emotions as a scared new parent, I amplified and fictionalized them on the page.

Visit Vanessa Lillie's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Cursed"

Jen Calonita is the author of the Secrets of My Hollywood Life series and other books like Sleepaway Girls and I'm with the Band. Fairy Tale Reform School and Royal Academy Rebels are her first two middle-grade series.

She applied the Page 69 Test to her new book, Cursed, and reported the following:

I've failed my test.

I hate failing tests!

But here I am, failing this one because while Page 69 of Cursed gives away an important kernel of information about the final book in the Fairy Tale Reform School series, it does not tell the whole plot. If a reader turned to page 69, they'd find a chapter titled "Pearls of Wisdom," and this information written by our former thief heroine, Gilly:

My grandmother seems to want to talk to anyone but me. She even made me leave the magic mirror that links us to FTRS on her porch. ("I won't have people eavesdropping on me!")

An interesting line indeed! Gilly has a grandma who hates snoops! And here's why: Gilly's grandma is a reclusive fairy that Gilly, Jax, Jocelyn, Maxine, Ollie, Kayla, Allison Grace and the crew must hunt down because she may have information about Rumplestiltskin and Alva (aka the wicked fairy from Sleeping Beauty) that could help them stop a curse that would rewind time in Enchantasia and make villains the leaders. Did I mention that Gilly's impressionable younger sister Anna is with Rumplestiltskin at this moment and seems to be evil? Or that the kids are still being forced to do homework while on the run from dangerous gargoyles?

Cursed is my wrap up to this series that I adore and there was so much I wanted to pack into pages like page 69 giving the reader glimpse of the future beyond the book while staying true to characters that I've grown to love and admire over the past few years. I hope this glimpse at page 69 has you wanting to read more. Happy reading!

Visit Jen Calonita's website.

Coffee with a Canine: Jen Calonita and Captain Jack Sparrow.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Dark Tomorrow"

Reece Hirsch is the author of six thrillers that draw upon his background as a privacy attorney. Black Nowhere and Dark Tomorrow feature FBI Special Agent Lisa Tanchik, who investigates cybercrime. His first book, The Insider, was a finalist for the 2011 International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel. His next three books, The Adversary, Intrusion, and Surveillance, all feature former Department of Justice cybercrimes prosecutor Chris Bruen. Hirsch is a partner in the San Francisco office of an international law firm and cochair of its privacy and cybersecurity practice.

He applied the Page 69 Test to Dark Tomorrow and reported the following:

From page 69:

Natalya had hoped to gain leverage over Phil in order to either use him to extract sensitive DOD data or infect his software to destroy US government systems. In an ideal scenario, her bosses might be able to plant a defect in a US cyberweapon developed by Claremont that would render it useless precisely when the Americans needed it the most. But playing the long game with Phil had ceased to be a priority now that the full-on attack was underway.

Unfortunately for Phil.

“And if the blackout weren’t enough, three of my top developers delivered a letter to me today objecting to the use of our technologies for military purposes,” Phil was saying, brandishing a fork. “I mean, they knew what they were signing up for. Making cyberweapons is what we do.”

“They should be grateful to have a good job at a growing company like yours,” said Natalya, nodding sympathetically.

“Exactly.”

“You’re defending America.”

“Well, we’re actually more on the offensive side of things. But yeah. In some ways it’s the same thing. A good offense is the best defense.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to try to explain the big picture to them. I shouldn’t have to, but I will. I mean, it’s not like we’re making napalm. You heard the president’s speech, right?” He didn’t wait for her response. “If we can’t attack whoever did this, then how will we deter anyone from doing it again?”

“It’s a new arms race, isn’t it?”

“You’re damn straight it is. And you can’t see another country’s cyberwarfare capabilities the way you used to be able to spot missile silos with satellites...”

Natalya stayed silent, hoping that he would just keep talking. Even on this, their final night together, there was still the possibility that she might gather one last piece of valuable intelligence.

For once, the Page 69 test doesn’t quite work for my thriller Dark Tomorrow. I wouldn’t say that page 69 entirely misrepresents the overall tone of my book, but it’s not the most representative sample because it does not include my protagonist and there are no obvious thrills. Dark Tomorrow is the second book in my series featuring FBI Special Agent Lisa Tanchik, who investigates cybercrime.

In Dark Tomorrow, Lisa’s pursuit of a hacker leads to her involvement in US Cyber Command’s response to a massive cyberattack targeting the East Coast. The excerpt above focuses on NatalyaX, a Russian sleeper agent who has developed a relationship with Phil Memmott, the young CEO of Claremont Systems, a government contractor that develops cyberweapons. Natalya is having dinner with Phil just before she ends her relationship with Phil – and ends Phil.

On closer inspection, however, the excerpt does, like a lot of my work, draw upon real issues from the technology industry. One significant flaw in our nation’s cyber defense is the fact that it relies upon government contractors to develop its sophisticated weapons, and the security of those contractors is not as strong as that of the Pentagon itself. That weakness was evidenced when Edward Snowden, then a contractor with Booz Allen, revealed NSA secrets. In this excerpt, Phil complains that his young tech workers have moral qualms about developing offensive cyberweapons for the US government. That is a very real tension that is playing out at some of Silicon Valley’s biggest companies.

So, while this snippet is not particularly suspenseful (although Phil isn’t long for this world), it does reflect my attempt to provide readers with a painless and jargon-free introduction to some cutting-edge cybersecurity issues while they’re turning the pages of a fast-paced thriller.

Visit Reece Hirsch's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Insider.

The Page 69 Test: Surveillance.

The Page 69 Test: Black Nowhere.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Secrets of Bones"

Kylie Logan is the national bestselling author of the Jazz Ramsey Mysteries, The League of Literary Ladies Mysteries, the Button Box Mysteries, the Chili Cook-Off Mysteries, and the Ethnic Eats Mysteries.

Logan applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, The Secrets of Bones, the second Jazz Ramsey Mystery, and reported the following:

From page 69:

“So what...” Juliette was so afraid of the answer, she could barely get out the words of her question. “What are you doing to do?”

“Me?” Jazz left Titus right where he was and picked up the other cat. “I’m going to take this cat back to Juliette’s where he belongs. Then I’m going to come back here to school, and when I get here I better find the three of you talking to Sister Eileen and Ms. Quinn, explaining what you did and why you did it.”

“But--”

Jazz cut off Cammie with a glare. “And you know what else you’re going to do? After the last bell rings today, you three are going to meet me right here. I’ll have Frank get some gloves and some shovels. You three are going to bury Titus.”

Here’s what’s going on…Jazz Ramsey (the heroine) has found out that three of the girls at the school where she works are pulling a prank on a teacher they don’t like. They have done a switcheroo, taking a sick cat the teacher has been tending and replacing it with a look-alike well cat in order to make the teacher (who is very religious) believe her prayers have been answered. When Jazz discovers what’s going on and the sick cat dies, Jazz metes out a unique punishment.

By reading this page would readers get a good idea of what The Secrets of Bones is about? I’m going to have to say, probably not. Because what’s going on is a flashback intended to convey not only the personality of the teacher who’s being pranked, but the way her students treated her. This is a teacher who’s been missing for three years and finding out what she was really like is vital to the story, but again, it’s a flashback, so not actually happening in “real” story time. The page does, though, help the reader to get to know Jazz better. She senses the girls are up to something, follows her instincts, and uncovers the truth. She’s an animal lover and she’s appalled at what the girls did. She’s also sensitive to the fact that what they did is going to hurt Ms. Quinn, the teacher they pranked, and so, it makes her more determined to figure out what happened to Bernadette Quinn and that is the heart of the story.

Visit Kylie Logan's website.

Q&A with Kylie Logan.

--Marshal Zeringue

"A Mother's Lie"

Sarah Zettel is an award-winning author. She has written more than thirty novels and multiple short stories over the past twenty-five years, in addition to hiking, cooking, stitching all the things, marrying a rocket scientist, and raising a rapidly growing son.

Zettel applied the Page 69 Test to her latest novel, A Mother's Lie, and reported the following:

From page 69:

Then there was the sitting there with her jeans and panties around her ankles and staring at the stupid stick while the stupid little plus sign formed in the stupid little window.

Beth remembered getting dressed, and looking at the stick again. Yes, it was still a plus sign. She flushed, and went out into her bedroom. She sat on the edge of her bed.

The sun had broken through San Fransisco’s semi-permanent cloud cover, and a beam fell on the ends of her toes. They were a mess of cracked red enamel. Doug, for reasons known only to himself, had decided he wanted to try painting her toenails, and she hadn’t been able to hold still because he’d kept tickling her.

She looked around her apartment. She looked at her messed up toes and at the sky outside her window. She exhaled.

“Okay,” she said to the empty bedroom and the new clump of cells busily dividing inside her. “Okay, I guess we’re doing this.”

Why that choice and that time? She didn’t know. There had been a couple of other times when she’d made different decisions. She’d even looked into getting her tubes tied. She did spend a couple of nights bawling through the kind of panic attack she’d thought she’d put behind her, but she never seriously tried to change her mind.

She called Doug, and she told him, and he listened and said it was a lot to process and could he call back tomorrow? She told him yes, because she figured that would be the most pain-free option.

She was right.

Three days later, she still hadn’t heard back, so she called again. She got his voice mail. She checked her…

Is this page a good example of what’s in the book? Not really. The book is domestic suspense, with an emphasis on the action, and the interaction between members of Beth’s family. What this page does, however, is vital to establishing Beth’s character, and how she came to motherhood. It is also vital to helping cement the reader’s understanding of the character of the father of her child, who does play an important role in upcoming events.

For Beth, although she does not fully realize it at the time, the decision to go forward with having a baby is a decision to more fully trust herself. She has built a life for herself. That life is sound enough and stable enough that she can bring a new person into to it. Here, Beth not only accepts that this new person, and her life, will grow and change together, in ways she cannot currently predict, she embraces it. Doug, the father, cannot accept that reality, and so he runs from it.

Visit Sarah Zettel's website.

Q&A with Sarah Zettel.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Last Girls"

Demetra Brodsky is an award-winning art director and designer turned writer. She has a B.F.A. from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and lives in Southern California with her family of four and two lovable rescue dogs. Dive Smack, her debut YA thriller, is dedicated to the Monarch butterfly she once saved from the brink of death.

Brodsky applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, Last Girls, and reported the following:

The Page 69 Test worked beautifully for me. Due to Covid-19 there is a delay in shipping so I'm using the ARC (Advance Reader's Copy), but on page 69 of Last Girls, my sophomore novel, we get to see Dieter Ackerman, the villain in the story more clearly. He is of course introduced early on, but here we experience the tension that he puts on the members that reside on the secret prepper compound where he is the leader. There is a group meeting being held because one of the members (Daniel) failed on a mission and brought unwanted attention to their coalition, and Dieter is chastising everyone involved with the mission he assigned for their lack of good judgement. Any attention focused on the group could expose their location and operations. The main character Honey shows her fear for her sister Birdie's safety during this scene because it is Birdie and Daniel who are at the focal point for speculation.

Here is a quote from the page:

"Earlier today," Dieter starts, "it was brought to my attention that certain coalition members sent on a level on civilian interaction training mission were not as discreet as instructed. The OPTEMPO was too fast. Too rash. And unsanctioned distraction methods were used. Because of that, we're going to change the way we do a few things until the scent clinging to our location and operation dies down. Most everyone involved extricated themselves from the situation. Except Daniel, who was left holding the bag. Metaphorically speaking."

Holding Birdie's bag. Holding Birdie's bag. Holding Birdie's bag.

That's all I can give your readers without spoilers. I hope you love reading about the Juniper sisters as much I loved writing their story.

Learn more about Last Girls at Demetra Brodsky's website.

Coffee with a Canine: Demetra Brodsky & L.B. and Ponyboy Curtis.

Q&A with Demetra Brodsky.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Have You Seen Me?"

Kate White is the New York Times bestselling author of fourteen novels of suspense: six standalone psychological thrillers, including Have You Seen Me? and eight Bailey Weggins mysteries.

For fourteen years she served as the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine, and though she loved the job (and all the freebies to be found in the Cosmo beauty closet!), she decided to leave eight years ago to concentrate full time on being a suspense author.

White applied the Page 69 Test to Have You Seen Me? and reported the following:

Page 69, excerpt:

As the Uber driver zigzags west and north toward the Central Park–Seventy-Ninth Street transverse, I realize I feel even more wired than I did before the session. Jittery, unable to stop gnawing on my thumb. Or keep a zillion questions from ricocheting in my head.

My agitation, I realize, is due in part to my returning home empty-handed. On some level I’d allowed myself to believe that the session today would be a magic bullet, kick-starting my memory. But as Erling stressed, it might take time for memories to be recovered. Did she mean days? I wonder. Or weeks? I can’t stand the thought of being in the dark for so long.

There’s something else eating at me, too. The memory of Jaycee Long refuses to loosen its grip on me.

It’s not as if I didn’t obtain all the help I needed at the time. I had six months’ worth of weekly sessions with a child psychologist, an intent listener who for some reason always wore a shawl pinned around the shoulders of her blazer.

And it wasn’t as if the bad thing had really happened to me. I was simply a bystander, a nine-year-old who took a shortcut….

I have to say that page 69 of Have You Seen Me? would definitely give a casual browser a good sense of what my thriller is all about and hopefully make them want to read it.

The book opens on a cold, rainy morning with Ally Linden arriving at her office soaked to the bone, only to realize she’s forgotten her key card and needs someone to let her in. When her boss shows up a short time later, he’s shocked to see her because, he explains, she hasn’t worked at the company in five years. Ally has no idea why she’s there.

During a trip to the psychiatric ER, Ally learns she’s been in a “dissociative” fugue state, and though some of her memory soon returns, she's still missing two whole days. As she tries frantically to figure out where she’s been, it becomes more and more clear that something terrible happened in those forty-eight hours--and someone will stop at nothing to make sure she doesn’t learn the truth.

Page 69 of my book lets the browser see how desperate Ally is to regain her memory of those missing days, and how frustrated she feels that even the appointment she just had with a therapist yielded no clues.

It also introduces a detail that’s only been hinted at until now. That Ally is still haunted by an experience she had when she was nine: finding the body of a murdered two-year old girl named Jaycee Long.

As the book progresses from this point, and as Ally searches for the truth, both Ally and the reader will begin to wonder if what happened to her during the missing two days is connected in some unknown way to her shocking experience as a child.

Visit Kate White's website, Facebook page, and Twitter perch.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Last Summer of Ada Bloom"

Martine Murray is an award-winning novelist and illustrator. She was born in Melbourne and now lives in Castlemaine, Victoria.

She applied the Page 69 Test to her latest novel, The Last Summer of Ada Bloom, and reported the following:

Page 69 of The Last Summer of Ada Bloom is the end of a conversation between Martha and her daughter Tilly, in which Martha, having returned to a house in which a fateful night has, unbeknownst to all, changed the lives of each family member in different ways, wakes and chastises Tilly, for sleeping in. What is apparent to the reader, but not to Martha, is that her anger is inflated by the fact of Tilly’s youth, both for the freedom and beauty conferred and her seeming insouciance, in the face of Martha’s lack of freedom and fading beauty. There is a feeling of weariness in Tilly’s responses, which suggests this sort of treatment is commonplace. This “plunges Martha into a sudden tumult of yearning for her own youth and the familiar tang of regret that she had lost it. Tilly had drained it out of her and taken it all for herself.”

Given the book is a lot about the potential claustrophobia of the family unit, especially a dysfunctional one, I imagine this scene may touch on the tone of the novel, without really hitting any key narrative movements or revelations. And given there are lurking secrets, betrayals, desires etc, there would be pages that could be way more revelatory or spicy or leading. If you like the psychological twists and turns in relationships, no matter how intricate, you could get a sense from this page, that this novel will bear witness to those. Perhaps a sort of interiority is characteristic. Or a bringing forward of the unconscious processes that make us who we are, or of those unconscious bargains unwittingly struck and perpetrated by parents to children, by spouse to spouse, sibling to sibling and by community to outsider. This page perhaps shows that the female characters, in this family, are each poised on the brink of a life change they are ill equipped for. I do love an ill equipped character, and when they are mutually ill equipped the problems escalate. The odd coincidence about the possibility of this page being revelatory of the whole novel is that it lands on the mother and daughter, whose relationship was the initial starting point for exploring this as a story. It quickly became bigger than that, but this page has at least landed at the core of that burgeoning.

Visit Martine Murray's website.

The Page 69 Test: Molly & Pim and the Millions of Stars.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Last Blue"

Isla Morley grew up in South Africa during apartheid. She is the author of Come Sunday, which won the Janet Heidinger Prize for Fiction and was a finalist for the Commonwealth Prize. Her novel Above was an IndieNext pick, and Best Buzz Book, and a Publishers Weekly Best New Book. She lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, daughter, three cats, and five tortoises.

Morley applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, The Last Blue, and reported the following:

From page 69:

“I know what some in town say about you, we hold none of those opinions. In fact, I think you are remarkable.” He goes on calling her this and that, making out like she is snow in July.

“I’m just blue, mister. That’s all.”

“Yes, blue,” he says, as though he has just now put his finger on it.

Imagine you have hiked into a remote, inhospitable wilderness where few have ever explored, and by chance come across a young woman with shocking blue skin, someone who seems to be from a bygone era. How would you react? You’d been warned to avoid the area, but you didn’t believe the rumors that deep in the forest lived the remnant of a diseased and dangerous colony, a peculiar breed of people who preyed on outsiders. Before you now, though, is proof of something almost otherworldly. Nobody back in your office in Cincinnati, Ohio, will believe you if you return with a story of blue people. But your partner has a camera, and lucky for you it’s 1937, which means color film has just been invented.

How dangerous is she? Is her malady infectious? Apart from blue skin, she appears to be healthy. Her brother, also blue as a bruised plum, has a shotgun and looks like he’d welcome the chance to use it, especially if a camera was pointed his way.

This is the predicament of Ulys Massey and Clay Havens, documentarians for the U.S. government. Instead of sticking to their assignment to document the plight of the coalminers of eastern Kentucky, they now see in these blue-skinned people a subject fitting for a cover story of National Geographic, their ticket to publishing success. First, they must avoid getting themselves shot. Next, they have to win their trust. As targets of prejudice and superstition their whole lives, Jubilee and Levi Buford know that they have only survived this long by avoiding all contact with outsiders. Welcome to page 69, where this first tense exchange takes place.

The Last Blue is inspired by the real-life case of “The Blue People of Kentucky.”

Learn more about the book and author at Isla Morley's website.

Writers Read: Isla Morley.

My Book, The Movie: The Last Blue.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Tornado Brain"

Cat Patrick and her family live near Seattle but spend as much time as possible four hours west setting marshmallows on fire and tangling kites in the curious town of Long Beach. There, Tornado Brain was born.

Patrick is the author of several books for young adults including Summer 2011 Kids Indie Next List pick Forgotten, which sold in 23 countries; ALA 2013 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers selection Revived; and others. Tornado Brain is her middle grade debut.

Patrick applied the Page 69 Test to Tornado Brain and reported the following:

Page 69 of Tornado Brain is part of an important scene just after the main character, Frankie, a neurodivergent middle schooler, visits the police station in her town of Long Beach, Washington. Frankie’s former best friend Colette has gone missing. Police are trying to uncover clues about what happened to Colette by speaking to several of her classmates, including Frankie.

I didn’t know what to expect when I agreed to this test! That said, I’m pleased to have discovered that opening Tornado Brain to page 69 does give readers a good sense of the book overall. The page helps readers learn about Frankie’s personality—and lack of filter—as well as about Frankie’s delicate relationships with her mom and sister. In addition, it features a quirky piece of art that’s signature Long Beach. Finally, it could be considered the tip of the iceberg in terms of the book’s mystery.

The mystery is what came first with Tornado Brain. I wrote a different young adult book more than seven years ago that had a similar premise: a former best friend gone missing. I didn’t love that book, but I did love the mystery. I held it tight until later, after I’d encountered Long Beach, and later still, when I met Frankie in my mind. Tornado Brain is the result of years of inspiration coming together, and I sincerely hope readers enjoy meeting Frankie and exploring her hometown.

Visit Cat Patrick's website.

Q&A with Cat Patrick.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Roar Back"

John Farrow is the pen name of Trevor Ferguson, who has written numerous novels and plays, all to extraordinary acclaim. His Émile Cinq-Mars crime series has been published around the world and cited by Booklist as "one the best series in crime fiction today," while Die Zeit in Germany suggested that it might be the best series ever.

Farrow applied the Page 69 Test to Roar Back, the newest novel in the Émile Cinq-Mars series, and reported the following:

A fun test, especially as Page 69 of Roar Back provides a glimpse into the novel at an intriguing moment. In a complex tale that moves from petty crime into major gang machinations that demand the involvement of multiple police forces, the page offers a simple cop-and-suspect exchange. My detective is questioning a teenager following a rash of burglaries which, when investigated, yielded a murder. One young man says he slept through it all. Cinq-Mars is not convinced that he did.

‘Did you see anybody marking doors with yellow chalk?’

‘No.’

‘Anybody hanging around lately who looked suspicious?’

‘Everybody looks suspicious.’

‘Try not to be a smart-ass, OK? You’ve been good until now. Don’t start.’

‘OK. No. I haven’t seen anybody look more suspicious than usual. Why ask me?’

‘Because half a squad of cops went through your apartment. You could barely open an eyelid. Makes it look as though you knew what was going on. That you didn’t need to ask.’

On the page, Cinq-Mars will assess him and try to penetrate the young person’s attitudes and culture to see what that might reveal.

‘Anyone come around trying to recruit kids like you?’

‘Kids like me?’

‘Kids in general.’

He shrugged. ‘The usual. If that’s what you mean.’

‘What’s the usual?’

‘Pedophiles. Pushers. The usual.’

Cinq-Mars finds it interesting that he uses the word pedophiles rather than a slur. He then asks if he’ll help him out if anyone attempts to recruit young thieves, and he tries to create a positive connection by discussing the boy’s habit of using a tree limb for chin-ups.

‘How many chin-ups can you do?’

The boy looked across at the maple. ‘Thirty. The bark cuts into my hands or I’d do more.’

‘Then I won’t challenge you. I could blame the bark, but you’re doing too many for me.’

This is the first of a number of talks between the two of them as Cinq-Mars figures out the youth’s place in the midst of everything. He will try out various conjectures and ultimately be surprised at how the matter shakes down with the boy and his dad. At this moment in the novel Cinq-Mars is at an early stage and determining if his relationship with this youth and others will be adversarial or cooperative. The writer, at least, enjoyed their talks.

Visit John Farrow's website and Trevor Ferguson's Facebook page.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Vera Violet"

Melissa Anne Peterson grew up in a rainy working-class logging town in Washington State. She received a BA and BS in writing and biology from The Evergreen State College and an MS from the University of Montana. She has worked in endangered species recovery in Washington and Montana for twelve years. Her writing has been published by Camas, Flyway: Journal of Writing & Environment, Oregon Quarterly, and Seal Press.

Peterson applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, Vera Violet, and reported the following:

Page 69 of Vera Violet is at the beginning of a chapter, so it’s short. The novel’s protagonist, Vera, reminisces about the rugged landscape she grew up in, “I thought about swimming in bright blue Lake Cushman. I imagined fishing for steelhead in the Wynoochee River. I knew the water in the Chehalis ran vivid and green. In my mind, I walked and walked and never stopped dreaming.”

Later on the page, she analyzes her relationship with her brother, “Colin and I walked everywhere. We walked uptown and down. We sat in the All Night Diner for too long. We ordered one cup of coffee between us—paid for it with nickels and quarters.”

I think the page 69 test works perfectly for the book in three ways. First it shows Vera’s constant longing for home combined with the twisted complexity of her relationship with it. Next it shows that Vera is a dreamer processing trauma, and lastly it highlights the importance of her relationship with her troubled brother.

All of these things are central themes in the book.

When Vera recalls fond memories of Pacific Northwest fish and rivers it contrasts sharply with post logging environmental degradation. Watching the ecosystem fracture as fish die changes Vera. It makes her angry at the unregulated capitalism that caused such damage. Observing her parents lose social and economic power after logging became unprofitable, also makes her feel that everything she loves is vulnerable.

Vera is also a romantic reeling from a brutal reality check. The book delves into the psychology of poverty and Vera’s desperate and nervous attempt to escape from it. She keeps her own unspoken, endangered dreams of economic and social utopia. She can only imagine this paradise after violent and irrevocable change.

Change she doesn’t know how to make.

The last thing the page 69 test does is explore her connection to her brother, Colin. After her mother leaves and her father succumbs to despair, Vera becomes very close to her brother. Together, they navigate drug-riddled poverty and watch as one by one, friends and family fall to violence, prison, or addiction.

In a larger context, the page is set in the uncertain present looking back at worrisome memories. Page 69 captures the beauty, confusion, isolation, and love that recur throughout the story.

Visit Melissa Anne Peterson's website.

--Marshal Zeringue