Local author Mindi Meltz reads from her new work, "Lonely in the Heart of the World," an epic, super-sexy, dream-based mythical novel.

In this poetic, heart-centered fairy tale, a princess descends from her tower to travel the mythical landscapes of Fire, Earth, Air, and Water in search of the prince who never showed up. Her innocent, erotic, transformative journey through inner and outer worlds becomes a quest for her own humanity, awakening along the way the secrets of a dream-god prince, a seductive huntress, a tortured dragon god, wise mountain farmers, a forgotten river goddess, ancient animal advisors, and a mad child with a unicorn soul, who all must remember themselves, each other, and the living planet in order to heal the loneliness of the world.

"The search for love resonates throughout this fiercely imaginative epic ... In her leisurely but potent narrative, Meltz sustains a rhapsodic tone that embraces both the sacred and the decidedly profane, and presents humanity as both threatening and compassionate. "

-- Publishers Weekly, starred review