Burning Ground

A finalist for the Chapters/Robertson Davies First Novel Award, Burning Ground has established Pearl Luke as a fresh, original voice and a writer to be watched. Burning Ground is the story of Percy, a fire watcher ensconced in the cocoon of her tower, scanning the horizon for "smokes." Completely alone, and wrapping herself in a fire-proof blanket of routine, Percy tries to insulate herself from the much more dangerous fires that burn from within. It's the intrusion of the past that haunts her, as she struggles to escape disturbing family secrets, and the loss of Marlea, her best friend and sometime lover. As she reaches out to a new frienship, Percy faces a searing battle of the elements — both emotional and physical — that will redefine her whole life, her loves and losses. Cinematic in its style, erotic in tone, Burning Ground boldly explores desire, sexual identity and emotional risk, rising to a powerful ending, not easily forgotten. "When Percy Turner begins a seventh summer of work in a fire tower deep in the Canadian woods, she is hanging on to her emotional stability by a thread. Completely isolated from the outside world and ensconced ini the cocoon of her tower, she spends her days scanning the horizon for "smokes", ranger-speak for forest fires. But the fires of her troubled past, which burn within her, are far more difficult for her to spot."--Back cover