Ronlyn Domingue

Ronlyn Domingue is the author of the newly released The Mapmaker’s War. Its sequel, The Chronicle of Secret Riven, is forthcoming in 2014. Her critically acclaimed debut novel, The Mercy of Thin Air, was published in ten languages. Her writing has appeared in The Beautiful Anthology (TNB Books), New England Review, The Independent (UK), and Shambhala Sun, as well as on mindful.org and The Nervous Breakdown. Born and raised in the Deep South, she lives there still with her partner, Todd Bourque, and their cats.

Last month I asked the author about what she was reading.  Her reply:

The Book of Books: 500 Years of Graphic Innovation edited by Mathieu Lommen—The Muses were involved when I found this book at my public library. The giant tome covers font, printing, illustration, and binding developments from the late 1400s to present day. I can’t wait to steal away for a few hours to study it for fun, but there’s also research involved. My third novel, which is a sequel to The Mapmaker’s War, has a character who owns a spectacular library. I’ve spent some time among special collections—vellum, laid paper, wax seals!—but there’s much left to learn about old and rare books so that I can describe the character’s treasures with confident specificity. No doubt this book will help in my efforts.

The Not Yet by Moira Crone—I studied with Moira as an MFA student at Louisiana State University. I’ve enjoyed her work, especially her short story collection What Gets Into Us. Her recent novel is about a dystopian future, set in a drowned New Orleans, in which those with enough wealth can extend their lives for centuries and everyone else scrambles to survive. To be honest, I rarely read dystopian fiction, but Moira writes so vividly, with such incredible detail, that I had to read it myself. And her novel is a finalist for the 2012 Philip K. Dick Award.

The Fairest of Them All by Carolyn Turgeon—Since I met Carolyn at an author event in 2007, I’ve read everything she’s written. I received an advance reading copy of her next novel to blurb, and this one has the same hallmarks of whimsy, sensitivity, and imagination as her other works. She does a masterful job of entwining the stories of Rapunzel and Snow White in a fairy tale retelling that’s dark, sensual, and clever. This book will be released in August 2013.

Learn more about the book and author at Ronlyn Domingue's website, Facebook page, and Twitter perch.

The Page 69 Test: The Mapmaker's War.

--Marshal Zeringue