Cold Spell

As their individual longings braid and cross, the exposed secrets of mother and daughter test their love. In precise and evocative prose, Cold Spell tells the parallel stories of a mother who risks everything to start over and a daughter whose longings threaten to undo them.

“Grabs you from the opening line and never lets go” ~ Publishers Weekly

"Vanasse is talented: she can turn ordinary words into the sublime...Readers who enjoy richly drawn characters trying to make sense of their surroundings will enjoy this cool and refreshing, yet haunting, glimpse of flawed souls." ~ Foreword Reviews

“Captures the harsh beauty of the terrain as well as the strain of self-doubt and complicated family bonds.” ~ Booklist

“By one of Alaska’s leading storytellers . . .complicated family and community dynamics, death, teenage drama, and the pressures of living a subsistence lifestyle in a tiny isolated town” ~ Library Journal