5 Quick Questions with Madeleine Ryan, Author of A Room Called Earth

5 Quick Questions with Madeleine Ryan, Author of A Room Called Earth

Briefly tell us about your book.

A Room Called Earth is 24 hours inside the mind of a dynamic young woman who goes to a party in Melbourne on Christmas Eve. She encounters different people, animals, places, and things. Toward the end of the night she connects with someone in a more intimate way, and she invites them deeper into her world.

She is mysterious, insightful, contradictory, and passionate…

Definitely someone worth spending time with.

If I looked at your internet history, what would it reveal about you?

My internet history would reveal my dreams, my desires, my fortune, my stars, and whatever I’m putting into – and onto – my body on any given day.

It contains a zillion DuckDuckGo searches regarding the opening hours of cafes in Melbourne and around regional Victoria. I’m always looking for the coffee machine that’s operating until (at least) 4PM. I keep AstroStyle and Tarot Goddess open in my tabs. Scrolling through IMDBPro is a regular occurrence, as is filling my cart on The Lab Organics’ website with beauty products that are both ingestible, and applicable. Like, activated charcoals for my water bottle, and nourishing body lotions.

What are you hoping the reader will take away from reading your book?

A sense of belonging. An understanding that the individual experience is a universal experience. Perhaps a newfound appreciation for their thoughts, feelings, sensations, memories, yearnings, and even the most fleeting of encounters with others.

Who are some of your favourite authors? Or favourite books?

For the past decade or so I’ve been reading self-help and spirituality books: Eckhart Tolle, Louise Hay, Dr. Christiane Northrup, Dan Millman, Terry Cole-Whittaker, David Hawkins, Marianne Williamson, and more. Prior to that I read a lot of classic literature and more mainstream fiction. I studied literature and creative writing at uni, and I grew up around books. However, I have a tendency to mimic. So. In order to create my own voices, and worlds, I needed to move away from those created by others.

Although, just recently, I tentatively started reading a bit of fiction again: Dostoyevsky’s Demons and I’m really enjoying it.

Are you able to switch off at the end of a day of writing? If so, how?

No. I never switch off !

Not when I’m sleeping. Not when I’m meditating. Not when I’m watching TV. Not when I’m in the bath. Not when I’m reading. I can slow down, maybe, but I can’t stop. My mind, and my heart, are always on-the-go.

Reviews

Your Preview Verdict: A Room Called Earth by Madeleine Ryan

Review | Preview

1 April 2021

Your Preview Verdict: A Room Called Earth by Madeleine Ryan

    Heartfelt and Enchanting: Read a Sample Chapter of A Room Called Earth by Madeleine Ryan

    Review | Extract

    22 February 2021

    Heartfelt and Enchanting: Read a Sample Chapter of A Room Called Earth by Madeleine Ryan

      One Life-Changing Night: Read our Review of A Room Called Earth by Madeleine Ryan

      Review | Our Review

      22 February 2021

      One Life-Changing Night: Read our Review of A Room Called Earth by Madeleine Ryan

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            Publisher details

            A Room Called Earth
            Author
            Madeleine Ryan
            Publisher
            Scribe
            Genre
            Fiction
            Released
            02 March, 2021
            ISBN
            9781925849776

            Synopsis

            A brilliant debut from a neurodiverse author that explores a young woman's magical, sensitive, and passionate inner world. A young woman gets ready to go to a party. She arrives, feels overwhelmed, leaves, and then returns. Minutely attuned to the people who come into her view, and alternating between alienation and profound connection, she is hilarious, self-aware, sometimes acerbic, and always honest. And by the end of the night, she’s shown us something radical about love, loss, and the need to belong.
            Madeleine Ryan
            About the author

            Madeleine Ryan

            Madeleine Ryan is an Australian writer, director, and actor. She’s been widely published in Australia and overseas, including in The New York TimesLenny LetterBustleThe AgeThe Daily TelegraphVice, SBS, and The Sydney Morning Herald. She currently lives in rural Victoria.

            Books by Madeleine Ryan

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