This was the line between here and there. No landwash, no vague intertidal zone, no undecided. She stood at the edge, a mass of instincts and yearnings and despair, while the dawn painted itself in around her, shade by delicate shade.

The kids call her Lighthouse: no lights on up there. In a small town, everyone knows when you can’t read. But Cathy is just distracted by the light and lines and artistry of everyday life. She is a talented artist growing up in tiny Mariners Cove and yearns for acceptance. She dreams of enrolling in art school, but getting there will be a struggle. Hutch Parsons is everything Cathy is not: charismatic, popular, smart. Overflowing with energy, he is confident in his plans for the future. But one icy evening his world is upended and those plans are swept away. Now he must face a different life and his own struggle.

Dancing between points of view, Catching the Light explores the ordinary lives of two extraordinary people. With gorgeously lyrical language and a strong sense of place, this tender novel announces a bright new voice in Atlantic fiction.

Susan Sinnott was born in the UK and now lives in St. John's, Newfoundland. She was awarded the Percy Janes First Novel Award for her then-unpublished manuscript, "Just Like Always," (Catching the Light) and an excerpt was adapted for inclusion in Racket, an anthology of short fiction by the Port Authority writing group, edited by Lisa Moore. Susan has also contributed to the Newfoundland Quarterly Online.

Susan Sinnott's profile page

• Long-listed, Dublin Literary Award
• Short-listed, Ontario Library Association White Pine Non-Fiction Award
• Long-listed, BMO Winterset Award
• Winner, Ann Connor Brimer Award for Children's Literature
• Short-listed, John and Margaret Savage First Book Award