About
I earned my A.B in Physics from Harvard/Radcliffe in 1963, and my PhD in Geophysics from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1970. As my dissertation was on ice fog (which isn't found just anywhere) I stayed at the University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute until I retired in 1998. (Yes, it was an early retirement, but I was having vision problems at the time and could not drive to work reliably.) I still live in Alaska, in a suburb of Fairbanks called North Pole.
I'd written quite a lot in my years at UAF, not only professional papers, but science popularizations and articles on canine history. On retirement, I added considerably to my websites on Shetland Sheepdogs and genetics, and began playing with fiction. I've also kept up my interest in gardening (at least in summer!) I'm also into animals, snowflakes and space. (I taught a beginning astronomy class a few times.) In addition to Homecoming, I've written a sequel as well as a trilogy set a couple of hundred years later but in the same universe and with some of the same characters. The sequel, Tourist Trap, won first place in science fiction and best fiction book in the Reader Views contest. Both books have five-star reviews from ForeWord Clarion.
Size Zero (Visage Book 1)
Description
<p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><strong>"A somber, disturbing mystery fused with a scathing look at the fashion industry. </strong><strong>Mangin writes in a confident, razor-edged style."</strong><strong> - Kirkus Reviews</strong></p><p style="margin:-4px 0px 14px;padding:0px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><strong>Condom dresses and space helmets have debuted on fashion runways.</strong></p><p style="margin:-4px 0px 14px;padding:0px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;">A dead body becomes the trend when a coat made of human skin saunters down fashion's biggest stage. The body is identified as Annabelle Leigh, the teenager who famously disappeared over a decade ago from her boyfriend's New York City mansion.</p><p style="margin:-4px 0px 14px;padding:0px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;">This new evidence casts suspicion back on the former boyfriend, Cecil LeClaire. Now a monk, he is forced to return to his dark and absurd childhood home to clear his name. He teams up with Ava Germaine, a renegade ex-model. And together, they investigate the depraved and lawless modeling industry behind Cecil's family fortune.</p><p style="margin:-4px 0px 14px;padding:0px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;">They find erotic canes, pet rats living in crystal castles, and dresses made of crushed butterfly wings. But Cecil finds more truth in the luxury goods than in the people themselves. Everyone he meets seems to be wearing a person-suit. Terrified of showing their true selves, the glitterati put on flamboyant public personas to make money and friends. Can Cecil find truth in a world built on lies?</p><p style="margin:-4px 0px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><strong>In high fashion modeling, selling bodies is organized crime.</strong></p>
Story Behind The Book
I've been telling myself stories for years--back to grade school, at least. Gradually they coalesced into a coherent universe, and started demanding to be let out of my head. I started writing them down over 15 years ago.
It took numerous rewrites and rearrangements to get a part of Roi's early life down as Homecoming and its sequel (which should be out spring 2011) Tourist Trap.
Reviews
<div>Second place in science fiction, Reader Views Reviewers Choice Award.</div> "If you're looking for a science Fiction adventure that has some thought behind it, I highly recommend this story."<span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-weight:bold;"> <br /><a href="http://sueannbowling.com/files/documents/HomecomingBowlingReview.pdf">Reader Views Review</a></span></span><div><span style="font-weight:bold;">"A completely original story, with both fresh ideas and sound science."<span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br /><a href="http://sueannbowling.com/files/documents/HomecomingBowlingReview.pdf">Clarion ForeWord Reviews</a></span></span><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">"This novel's characters may have complex backgrounds, but by the end of
the tale they've all become dear to the reader. The questions they face
are as relevant here and now as to their distant lives—duty, love,
freedom, honor, security, fatherhood—and the detailed world they inhabit
is almost real.<span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">"<br /><a href="http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978861074">Sheila Deeth on Gather</a></span></span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">"Do yourself a favor - READ THIS BOOK!"<span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br /><a href="http://denzramblings.blogspot.com/2011/01/homecoming-by-sue-ann-bowling.html">Denz Ramblings</a></span></span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">"If you like science fiction, this is an amazing read. The story twists
and turns, with action and adventure, and the characters step right off
the page. I would think a book club or reading group would find this an
interesting and attractive reading addition for their members."<span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br /><a href="http://bit.ly/etOHg6">Leslie Wright, Blogcritics</a></span></span><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
