The Dragon Keeper: A Novel
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โTwin Cities Pioneer Press"Mejia beautifully tackles the subjects of animal captivity, endangered animals, human-animal connections, and even evolution."
โGlobal Animal"This is a thriller of the rarest formโone that touches both the mind and the heart. A wonderful read."
โMary Logue, author of the Claire Watkins mysteries"โฆimpressiveโฆambitiousโฆMindy Mejia is a talent to watch."
โSheila O'Connor, author ofย Where No Gods Cameย andย Sparrow Road
A zookeeper fights to save the animal she loves, even as her own life crumbles around herโฆ
Meg Yancy knows she may be overly attached to Jata, the Komodo dragon that has been in her care since it arrived at the zoo from Indonesia. Jata brings the exotic to Megโs Minnesotan life: an ancient, predatory history and stories of escaping to freedom. A species that became endangered soon after being discovered, Komodos have a legacy of independence, something that Meg understands all too well. Meg has always been better able to relate to reptiles than to people, from her estranged father to her live-in boyfriend to the veterinarian who is more concerned with his career than with the animalsโ lives.
Then one day, Meg makes an amazing discovery. Jata has produced viable eggsโwithout ever having had a mate. Faced with this rare phenomenon, Meg must now defend Jataโs hatchlings from the scientific, religious, and media forces that converge on the zoo to claim the miracle as their own.
Finally forced to deal with the very people she has avoided for so long, Meg discovers that opening herself up comes with its own complications. And as she fights to save the animal she loves from the consequences of its own miracle, she must learn to accept that in nature, as in life, not everything can be controlled.
Mindy Mejiaโs gripping debut novel highlights the perils of captivity and the astonishing ways in which animals evolve.ย
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ย Mindy Mejia was born and raised in a small-town-turned-suburb in the Twin Cities area. She received a BA from the University of Minnesota and an MFA from Hamline University. Other than brief interludes in Iowa City and Galway, sheโs lived and worked in Minnesota her entire life.
Mindy generally focuses her fiction writing on the novel, though she also writes short stories, which have appeared inย rock, paper, scissors;ย Things Japanese: An Anthology of Short Stories; andย THIS Literary Magazine.
The Dragon Keeperย is Mindyโs debut novel. Sheโs currently working on a murder mystery set in rural southern Minnesota.ย Click hereย to visit Mindy's website, and check out thisย Q&A with Mindyย on Komodo dragons, writing, and more.
