Eliza Nellums

Raised in the Detroit suburbs, Eliza Nellums now lives with her cat in Washington DC. She is a member of Bethesda Writer's Center as well as the Metro Wriders, a weekly critique group that meets in Dupont Circle.

Nellums's debut novel is All That's Bright and Gone.

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

I recently finished Virgil Wander, by Leif Enger. For most of the book the pacing was slow and dreamlike, which I loved. There's a lot of pressure to add intensity and keep people on the edge of their seats, but this was such a gentle book about small town life along the lake in Minnesota. I came away totally inspired.

I'm half way through The Far Field, and I'm loving it - a lot of the story is set in Kashmir, a place I've never even been close to, and I'm so transported and absorbed by this (to me) totally new place. And the writing is brilliant.

I usually have a few books going at a time, so I'm just starting one I've been excited to read all year: Freshwater, by Akwaeke Emezi. I have only just gotten underway, but I am fascinated by other people's debut novels right now - they are all just so personal and intimate - these are often books that people have worked on for a lifetime, truly like you're holding someone's dearest wish in your hand.

Next I can't wait to dig into Zach Powers' First Cosmic Velocity, which is set in the Russian space program of the 1960s. I'm prepared for a strange and beautiful trip!

Visit Eliza Nellums's website.

The Page 69 Test: All That's Bright and Gone.

--Marshal Zeringue