What happens when Jacques Beaumont, a black artist, moves to a small, racist town in 1950a (TM)s Midwestern America and falls in love with the abused wife of the town sheriff and ringleader of the areas white supremacy group? Jacques Beaumont is a French Haitian artist of Voodoo ancestry and has the ability to resurrect the dead through his sculpture. The death of his parents takes him to a remote town in Illinois, where he hopes to find the seclusion necessary to perfect his craft, but instead falls in love with tragic Elora Donnelley. Elora is the abused wife of Arlo Donnelley, the towna (TM)s sheriff who is also a drunk and the ringleader of the areas white supremacy group. When Arlo discovers that Elora is carrying Jacques child, he attempts to murder Elora and dumps her body alongside the Mississippi river, where Jacques finds her nearly dead. Jacques decides to take her life, in order to resurrect her so that they may escape together. But the murder precipitates a series of events that force him into exile, and when Elora resurrects, she possesses Jacquesa (TM)s ability and desires her own revenge. The Carving Circle is a lyrical noir love story that interlaces racism, rebirth, murder and art.

Author Biography

Gretchen Heffernan is a poet, novelist and publisher. She co-founded Backlash Press and has published in journals such as Agni and Brittle Star. She is the author of The Book of Dirt and, forthcoming, The Book of Insects and The Carving Circle, a noir title about American racism, obsession and art. She has a degree in Creative Writing and Modern Poetry from Vermont College. She has completed two Faber Academy writing programs and has been involved with The Poetry School in London.