I went to high school with Dominick Domingo, who turned out to be a thoughtful and insightful writer. I found out he'd been working in animation some years after high school, and discovered he'd released The Nameless Prince, a coming of age story about Seth Bauman, a young man living by the L.A. River, a few years ago.
From the description:
Seth Bauman has issues. His Mom split ten years ago, right after his birth, and guardian Uncle Troy won't discuss the past. Seth's only friend is Mexican immigrant Elena, whom he must walk home from school through Silverlake's gang-ravaged streets. When Elena is abducted by local gang, 'the Mayans,' Seth has no choice but to follow The Boatman of the L.A. River into the sprawling network of sewers and metro tunnels concealing the Mayan headquarters. To Seth the great labyrinth unfolds as a magical realm called 'the Interior,' whose residents immediately deem him the 'Nameless Prince' of prophecy, sent to save them from peril.You know I loves me some meaty, urban fantasy, right? I loved that book, and was really hoping for a sequel. Well, guess what?
It's been five years since Seth rescued Elena—since he was the only one who could navigate all those abandoned metro tunnels and bring her back. They're sophomores in high school now, but Elena's stuffed away the trauma of her ordeal. She's dating Ruben, new leader of the Mayans, the very gang who abducted her for ransom. Under the guise of focusing on his studies, Seth's forgotten the magic of his own childhood.
But one moonlit night, dragonfly Fidel appears on Seth's windowsill, telling him Constantine's in trouble. Seth's taken back in time; Constantine, the Boatman was once his only friend. Seth's left to decide whether the fanciful realm he imagined as a child was simply an escape, or represents a very real world in need of rescue. More importantly, he must decide whether he should protect his heart, or get involved and venture into a world he's not even sure exists. Only in Interia will Seth learn it's by saving others that we save ourselves...
Domingo isn't just interested in Urban Fantasy, either. In his collection of stories, Where the Godless Folk Live, he delves into some of the darker aspects of the human condition:
Just beyond the familiar is a dusty, windswept place where right and wrong confound themselves like a storm come without warning, 'when Ma says it's time to come in and you can smell the change in the air-the humidity creepin' in and push out the dry,' the way Grant tells it. Just beyond the Salt Flats is where the 'Godless Folk' live, he's always been told. Why then, he's left to wonder, does Randsberg, the tiny town on the edge of the flats, produce only two things: bible thumpers and tweakers?
Far From the Thick of Things takes us on another journey through human nature:
I love his writing style, and that he doesn't hesitate to delve into the darkness in his own, distinctive poetic way.The pages of Far From the Thick of Things drip with incongruous, dreamlike images: a clever trollop braving an earthquake on a London street, a garage sale genie who takes wishes instead of granting them, a destitute theater actress who meets her former self in a dark alley. It's these absurd juxtapositions-the extraordinary in the ordinary-that reveal the mechanics of the universe, as well as the inner-workings of our own hearts.
On another note, Dominick has been suffering from cancer, and needs a hand with medical bills. If you can spare anything, even $5.00, please head over to Dominick Domingo's Go Fund Me page, and/or purchase a book or three as Christmas gifts for yourself and anyone on your gift-giving list! He's a good man who has always helped others before himself, so if you can help out, I know he'd appreciate it!
Happy reading!
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