It is 2013 and Calgary's Bow river is beginning to rise. Two homeless men stand by the bank and contemplate the death of another friend-an accident?

Taking cover downtown that night, Shermeto intervenes in the attack on a bar patron, and finds himself laid up in the hospital. Outside, as the city reels from an unthinkable disaster, Shermeto finds himself away from the swelling river and face-to-face with the a part of past he is trying to hide from: his daughter Kendra.

Robin van Eck loves words. She writes mostly contemporary fiction but has also begun to re-explore her love of horror, the weird and fantastic. In fact, a review of one of her stories compared her to the likes of Edgar Allan Poe. She is both locally and internationally published with stories and creative nonfiction appearing in FreeFall Magazine, Lamplight Magazine, Woven Tales Press, Minerva Rising, Routes Magazine, the Waiting Anthology (University of Alberta Press) and many other anthologies and online publications. Her work has been short-listed for contests (once she even placed second) and was the finalist for the AMPA (Alberta Magazine Publishers) Award for Fiction in 2010. In her day job she is the Executive Director for the Alexandra Writers Centre Society in Calgary where she also teaches creative writing and mentors other writers. 'Rough' is her first novel.

Robin van Eck's profile page

"When the river jumps the banks, eating the city's downtown core as it goes, one man, homeless by choice, is forced to confront his past in order to save those he cares about. Visually rich and intense, Robin van Eck's debut novel provides a deep reflection on humanity. An eye-opening, haunting, and unforgettable read." --Fran Kimmel, author of No Good Asking.