What is Will Lavender reading?

The current featured contributor at Writers Read: Will Lavender, author of Dominance.

His entry begins:

I recently picked up Michael Crichton’s Sphere, a book that was recommended to me as “a good beach read.” I wasn’t expecting the book to do what it did. First, let me say that I love scouring used bookstores; I love the veiny-spined book, the lonely book that has been on the shelves for months and months, the book that was popular two decades ago. I like to sort of assume a different persona when I read these novels, imagine that I am living in a different era, the era when this particular book was hot off the presses. The book as time machine.

Like all great books, Sphere is a book that works on a multitude of different levels. What it is, though, is a page-turner. What it isn’t? Mindless entertainment. This book is the literary equivalent of...[read on]

Among the early praise for Dominance:

"[A] taut second standalone.... Full-bodied characters, an effective gothic atmosphere, and a deliciously creepy, unpredictable finale."
—Publishers Weekly

"The Silence of the Lambs meets And Then There Were None... a terrific premise."
—Booklist

"Lavender takes on another puzzle-within-a-thriller... Twisty and turny, with all kinds of side roads ... [He] manages to maintain the novel's taut, sinister atmosphere from the first page to the last... Readers who loved Lavender's first book will doubtless delight in this one."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Lavender's exciting second literary thriller (after Obedience) pulls readers right into the hunt. Aldiss reminds us of a sexy Hannibal Lecter, and the mystery of the reclusive author Paul Fallows and his connection to the class is riveting. Well-drawn characters, excellent plot, good use of flashbacks, and many red herrings will keep the pages turning to the very end."
—Library Journal

Learn more about the author and his work at Will Lavender's website and blog.

Lavender is a graduate of Centre College with an MFA from Bard College. His debut novel, Obedience, was a New York Times and international bestseller. His novels have been sold in 13 countries.

The Page 69 Test: Obedience.

Writers Read: Will Lavender.

--Marshal Zeringue