First Fiction Fridays: Cauchemar

What: Cauchemar (ECW Press, 2015)Who: Alexandra Grigorescu has a Master’s degree in creative writing from the University of Toronto, where she attended writing workshops led by George Elliott Clarke and Jeff Parker, and wrote her thesis under the guidance of Camilla Gibb. She lives in Toronto, Ontario. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter.Why you need to read this now: Cauchemar is an eerie and romantic debut novel set in the Deep South. Grigorescu tells the story of Hannah, a 20-year-old woman who tragically loses her adoptive mother Mae and finds herself living alone on the edge of a Louisianan swamp. Before she knows it, she’s fallen in love with musician and laidback boat captain Callum, who begins to fill her beloved Mae’s shoes as Hannah’s protector. Hannah’s biologicial mother Christobelle had been outcast as a witch, rumoured to commune with the dead. When Christobelle comes back into Hannah’s life, she must confront the swamp’s deadly spirits, the secrets of her past, and the nascent gift that she possesses.Gorgeously written, Cauchemar is a nightmare and a love story that will have you teetering between this world and the next.Review quotes:Links: Follow along on the Cauchemar blog tour at http://ecwpress.com/cauchemar-blogtour.  ***Thanks so much to ECW Press, especially Sam Dobson, for sharing Cauchemar with us.