A ONE PAGE DECISION

First, I’m going on vacation so my blog will be on hiatus for two weeks. Catch me later.

Meanwhile, I’m sharing an interesting thing I read about how one reader chose a book to read. After approving the title, cover and  jacket blurb, she then opened the novel to page 69 and read that one page. If it passed, she bought the book. This method wouldn’t work with Amazon’s “Look inside” feature as they might not get to page 69, and I have no idea why she picked that page over, for example, the first or last page, as many people do. But it made me curious, so I thought it would be fun to look at page 69 in a few of my books and see if I’d buy my own.

This is from STRANGER IN PARADISE, about the assistant manager of a hotel in Hawaii, and the man whose company might buy it.

     "Forget last night." She said it almost too sharply, and then instantly regretted using that tone of voice with him. Yet she had to make him understand. She pulled her hand away.
     "Did Tom tell you he resigned and is leaving the hotel in two weeks?"
     Matt nodded.
     "And did he tell you he's recommending me for manager?"
     "He mentioned it.”
     "Even with Tom's recommendation, there are no guarantees, but if your company buys the hotel, that opportunity will vanish."
     "You don't know that as a fact, and I certainly don't.” He raised one hand as if to touch her again, then dropped it to his side.
     "What I know is how few women managers there are in this business. I read a magazine story that profiled the managers of eight large American hotels. Without exception, they were all men.”
     "All right, so I admit that life can sometimes be unfair. But that kind of attitude is changing all the time."
     "Who manages La Casa Grande--excuse me, The Monarch--in Mexico?"
     He held up his hands, defeated.
     "You see, it isn't changing fast enough."
     "Would it help if I steered Danforth away from buying the Ocean Breeze? There's more than enough to keep them interested out here without that."
     Dana's temper flared momentarily. "I don't want any favors from you, and I don't want my success that way."

Try this with one of your own novels. It’s interesting and fun.
Back in two weeks. Stay cool.