Vicki Hendricks's "Cruel Poetry"

Vicki Hendricks is the author of noir novels Miami Purity, Iguana Love, Voluntary Madness, Sky Blues, and the latest, Cruel Poetry.

She applied the "Page 99 Test" to the new novel and reported the following:

Page 99 of Cruel Poetry -- Sexual flirtation between the main character Renata and one of the many men who would gladly succumb to her charms. She’s wearing a translucent leopard print dress with Pepe the anaconda around her shoulders. A blond guy says, “I used to have one like this -- not quite so big.” Renata giggles. “Damn. What happened to it? Oh, are we talking about snakes?”

As Renata spreads her legs, her back to the light, revealing a lack of panties, her breath deepens and a cool streak of wetness runs down her thigh, instant response to the eager participant to her exposure.

Although it’s an exaggeration that you can stick a finger anywhere into one of my books and come up with a sex scene, I guess it worked this time. Page 99 is representative of various moments when the main character expresses the sexual focus of her life and how she entangles those who surround her in danger, body and soul, whether they are men, women, or snakes.

Visit Vicki Hendricks's website and read an excerpt from Cruel Poetry.

--Marshal Zeringue