Perry's 99

"For decades, readers have used the Page 99 Test to judge the writing of a book before buying it." - Page99Test.com Today, Perry Martin will be dissecting page 99 from his latest release, Pretty Flamingo.

By Perry Martin

Since my first novel, "Pretty Flamingo" is as much a mystery as it is a dramatic love story, I wanted to continually infuse it with hints of hidden events; events that the reader hopes will be revealed at some point. The central "mystery" element that drives the story along, is David Perry's struggle to recover his lost teenage memories - - memories that, although still hidden from him at this point in the story, evoke a host of mixed emotions; love, fear, anger, sorrow and devastating loss.

But, within that mystery, I wanted to weave other mysteries that, when they are all at last finally uncovered, added significantly to the impact of the final revelation. Not only do we find out what happened during the missing six months of David's life, we are also able to understand how it affected him mentally and emotionally. Though completely hidden from him, he was still directed by the event's subconscious influence and it altered the course of his life.

By page 99 we are witnessing the beginnings of a teenage love affair between David and Lisa. It eventually grows to become a love so powerful it almost defies description and understanding - - even to the two people who are experiencing it. But, as that love develops, I also hint that there is something about Lisa she is reluctant to tell David about, for fear that he'll think less of her.

When she asks David to tell her all about himself he agrees saying, "Okay. But turnabout's fair play. When I'm done, I want to know everything about you."

Her reply, said with an air of mystery, is: "We'll see."

So, David gives her the story of his life to date, leaving out a few details he's also not willing to tell her - - yet. We know, from earlier in the book, that David made a stupid mistake that cost him his previous girlfriend and he's sworn to himself never to make that error again, so we understand his decision to give her a slightly "edited" version of his life so far.

What I hoped to do with this scene was to lay some of the groundwork for what would come later. Showing that not just love, but trust needed to develop between them before they could bare their souls to one another.

I tried, as much as possible, to have something that would pique the reader's interest on every page. I'd heard that publishers will pick up a book, or manuscript, and turn to completely random pages and start reading. If they become interested, no matter which page they read, it's usually taken as a sign that the novel is potentially a good one. The trick, I suppose, is to do that naturally, so that it isn't jarring to the reader. If you do it right, the book can be a real "page turner".

 What I hoped to achieve on Page 99, and throughout the book, was to keep the reader turning those pages.

 

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Genre - Drama / Romance
Rating - PG13
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Website http://www.prettyflamingothebook.com/

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