The prequel to Viviane Cormoran may begin with a dead witch in a swimming pool, but its true origin lies much closer to home: on the shores of the St. Lawrence River and in a little-known legend from Quebec folklore.
When readers ask me where Viviane Cormoran came from, they often expect me to talk about nymphs, magic, or urban fantasy.
Viviane was born from my love of the St. Lawrence River and a little-known Quebec legend called La Coureuse des Grèves, or The Shore Runner.
I first encountered the story while visiting the village of Saint-Jean-Port-Joli. A local restaurant bears the name La Coureuse des Grèves, and curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to know who she was and why people still remembered her centuries later.
Depending on who tells the legend, the details vary, but the image remains the same: a mysterious young woman who spent her days along the shoreline, speaking with fishermen and wandering the beaches of the South Shore. No one seemed to know where she came from, and over time she became part of local folklore.
As a writer, I immediately started asking questions.
Who was she? Why was she always near the water? What if the legend came from a real encounter with something people couldn’t explain?
Those questions eventually became Viviane.
In my imagination, the Shore Runner became an Oceanid, a supernatural creature tied to the water and the health of the shoreline. Suddenly, everything made sense. Of course she would be drawn to the river. Of course people would remember seeing her on the beaches. Of course she would never feel entirely at home away from the water.
The more I wrote, the more Viviane became her own person. She stopped being a folkloric figure and became a woman searching for answers, struggling with powers she doesn’t understand, and trying to find a place where she belongs.
The novella itself is also a love letter to Quebec. I wanted to fill it with the landscapes, legends, and supernatural stories that shaped my imagination growing up. That’s why you’ll find figures like La Corriveau alongside magical creatures inspired by traditions from Quebec and beyond.
At its heart, Witches, Waters, and Wicked Lies began with a simple question I ask myself whenever I discover an old legend:
What if there was some truth behind the story?
For Viviane, that question leads to a dead witch, a haunted manor, and far more trouble than she bargained for.
For me, it led to one of my favorite characters I’ve ever written.
And it all started on the shore of the St. Lawrence River. 🌊✨
