Brunkhorst, Alex

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Brunkhorst, Alex

PERSONAL: Born in Milwaukee, WI. Education: Graduate of Georgetown University.

ADDRESSES: Home—Los Angeles, CA. Agent—Leslie Falk, Collins McCormick Literary Agency, 30 Bond St., New York, NY 10012.

CAREER: United Talent Agency, Los Angeles, CA, former writers' agent. Also worked as a personal assistant.

WRITINGS:

The Mating Season (novel), St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS: Alex Brunkhorst is a former talent agent whose debut novel, The Mating Season, began as a short story she wrote as a Christmas gift. Described by Booklist contributor Marta Segal as a "charming first novel," The Mating Season is the story of Zorka Carpenter, a shy young woman whose mother died after her father left them. Her friends include spoiled Zoe Christie, who exploits their friendship, and Kris Tina Woo, a budding architect who is obsessed with colleague Richard Dorsey, who designed nine buildings worldwide, but finished none of them. Zorka's other 310 friends are members of the animal kingdom, and she calls all of them by their familiar names: e.g., Seahorse, Ladybug, Tarantula.

When Kris is accepted at Princeton University, she offers Zorka residence in her glass-walled Case Study House No. 1, which is perfect for Zorka's collection of friends. As Kris continues her pursuit of the elusive Dorsey, Zorka meets him during a shopping excursion, and the two begin an affair.

A Kirkus Reviews contributor called The Mating Season "a whimsical love story." Nanci Milone noted in Library Journal that because Brunkhorst writes about a fantasy world populated by multidimensional characters, she will be compared to Alice Hoffman; the critic added, however, that "Brunkhorst's prose style and metaphors are all her own."