Jan Stinchcomb - Verushka

Verushka

Available from JournalStone, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.

“Through evocative prose, Stinchcomb establishes a mounting sense of claustrophobia as the tension ratchets up.” —Publishers Weekly

Someone is stalking Devon Woodward. They've been there all along, since before she was born, going back to her grandmother's time. Waiting for her. Watching. And the people who should be able to help, her own parents, are making everything worse.

Devon is right to be afraid. Verushka, both victim and villain, is a half-human witch from the other side of the world. She will do anything to get what she needs from the Woodward family, but she may have finally met her match in young Devon.

Will family conflict sabotage Devon's efforts to escape and put her in even greater danger? In this multi-perspective novel that is part fairy tale and part horror story, a young girl fights to uncover the truth and save her own life.

"Stinchcomb's debut novel is a magical, thrilling exploration of mothers and monsters, woven with the stark, secret language of the old tales and the gorgeous sensibilities of the contemporary. An exquisite story that will stay with me long after I put it down, like a dream, or a nightmare, staring through the window in the darkest hour of the Night."

—A.A. Balaskovits, author of Magic for Unlucky Girls and Strange Folk You'll Never Meet

"As a curse seeps through generations of an unsuspecting family, a modern-day maiden must risk life and sanity to vanquish it back to the dark forest from which it was birthed. Stinchcomb delivers a haunting fairy tale packed with piercing insight into motherhood and adolescent bravado. Stinchcomb explores fragile mother-child relationships, wickedly rebellious spirits, and budding coming-of-age brazenness in this spellbinding horror laced fantasy."

—Nico Bell, author of Beyond the Creek

"As lyrical as it is haunting, Verushka will creep up on you in the best possible ways. Stinchcomb has written a novel that will lurk in your mind long after you've finished reading it."

—Chloe N. Clark, author of Collective Gravities and Patterns of Orbit

"Author Jan Stinchcomb has crafted something truly special with her novel, Verushka. This is a devastating tale of the bonds between mother and child as well as the all-too-real terrors of growing up. An astounding book and one that you'll want to read immediately."

—Gwendolyn Kiste, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens and Reluctant Immortals