Page 69: Letters to the Purple Satin Killer

 Disclaimer: The Page 69 Test is not mine. It has been around since 2007, asking authors to compare page 69 against the meat of the actual story it is a part of. I loved the whole idea of it and so I'm stealing it specifically to showcase small press titles - novels, novellas, short story collections, the works! So until the founder of The Page 69 Test calls a cease and desist, let's do this thing....

In this installment of Page 69, 

We put Joshua Chaplinsky's Letters to the Purple Satin Killer to the test.

Set up page 69 for us.

 This is from an early letter by Ginny Goodwinch, a "single mother of two from Chappaqua, NY who doesn’t believe all the bad things they say about Jonas in the press." At this point in the story she hasn't fully succumbed to her obsession with Jonas but is well on her way. 

 

What Letters to the Purple Satin Killer is about:

 LTTPSK is an epistolary novel that explores the aftermath of a serial killer's crimes via the letters he receives while on trial and in prison. These letters offer a unique glimpse into a depraved mind through a human lens, including contributions from family, the bereaved, and self-professed “fans.” They represent a chilling portrait of the American psyche, skewering a media obsessed culture where murderers are celebrities to revere.

 

Do you think this page gives our readers an accurate sense of what the book is about? Does it align itself with the book's themes? 

 In a broad sense I think it does. Ginny is one of the more consistent voices in LTTPSK, and her narrative intertwines with that of some of the other major characters. The tone of her letters gives a good indication of the amount of humor in the novel, even though you can definitely see the darkness bubbling below the surface. She is the perfect embodiment of the novel's themes of celebrity obsession and our desperate need for human connection. 

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 PAGE 69

 

To: Jonas Williker, inmate #957464

From: Ginny Goodwinch

November 30, 2005

 

Dear Jonas,

 

I saw you on TV today. When you looked into the camera and winked, I

let loose a scream that would have done young Ginny proud! (I used to be a

massive New Kids fan. Mother used to threaten to send me to a shrink, I was

so obsessed.)

 

You looked so handsome in your suit! Was it my imagination or were there

an awful lot of women in the courtroom? You better not be cheating on me!

(Just kidding.)

 

Speaking of kids, Bobby and Derek have been driving me up the wall. (You

hear me, guys? Mommy’s still very upset about her Kristi Yamaguchi commemorative

plates!) Sometimes I feel like they’re the only thing holding me

back from driving across the country to see you. Would you like that? I’d

leave the kids with Mother, but she’s been confined to a dang wheelchair ever

since she broke her hip. (She doesn’t think I know, but EMS told me she was

fornicating with the gardener in the shower when it happened!)

 

Sometimes I get so angry over the things they say about you on the news.

What happened to innocent until proven guilty? They don’t know you raped

and murdered all those women. That’s for a jury to decide. I wish I knew

where that mean old news lady lived, I would drive to her house and give her

a piece of my mind!

 

Listen to me, getting all protective like a momma bear. It’s hard for me not

to take these attacks on you personally. I feel like we’ve bonded so much in

such a short period of time. Your letters have given me a reason to get up in

the morning, not become a reason I get up in the morning, like two naughty

 

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Joshua Chaplinsky is the author of ‘Letters to the Purple Satin Killer’, ‘The Paradox Twins’, ‘Whispers in the Ear of A Dreaming Ape’, and ‘Kanye West—Reanimator.’  His short fiction has been published by Vice, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Thuglit, Severed Press, PMMP, Expat Press, and Broken River Books. He was the Managing Editor of LitReactor.com (2011-2023). Follow him on Instagram, Twitter, & TikTok at @jaceycockrobin. More info at joshuachaplinsky.com.