Overview

• The debut novel publishes this week from Ballantine Books, with Dommu discussing the release and its inspirations in new interviews.
• Best Woman follows Julia Rosenberg, a trans woman who returns to Florida for her brother’s wedding and schemes to reconnect with a high-school crush.
• Dommu conceived Julia as an intentionally unlikable, manipulative heroine in homage to My Best Friend’s Wedding.
• The Florida setting, drawn from Dommu’s hometown, lets the story navigate the pull of home in a state hostile to trans people without denying local queer life.
• Dommu describes the book as a rom-com with fanfiction DNA, emphasizing messy humor, bisexual desire, and a move away from tidy happily-ever-afters.