The Fishing Widow

There’s an old saying that goes: The difference between a fairy tale and a fisherman’s tale is this… a fairy tale begins, “Once Upon A Time,” and a fisherman’s tale begins, “This Ain’t No Bullshit.”Supernatural terror stalks the crew of the purse seiner the F/V “The Case In Point” during the March 2010 Sitka Herring Sac Roe Fishery in Southeast Alaska. As the herring war intensifies, each boat is an island, and being alone can cost you everything. As the web spins from the depths, the past is not so distant; the lines between history and myth begin to blur. The forgotten horror surrounding the 1835 loss of the Nantucket whaler “The Covenant” threatens to overwhelm the present. One among the seven men aboard “The Case In Point” is unwittingly marked by a woman beautiful and cursed, who not only desperately needs his help, but needs, desperately, to tear out his heart and consume his crew.

From the Inside Flap

The difference between a fairy tale and a fisherman's tale is this: a fairy tale begins "Once Upon a Time," while a fisherman's tale begins "This Ain't No Bullshit."In September 2006, nineteen-year-old Ethan Lindgren reeled as his best friend, fellow fisherman Colin Claybaugh, hauled him bodily across Fairweather's deck. Wind shrieked through the wires as stony grey seas flew across the rail, the force threatening to knock them off their feet. Torrents of rain and spray could not hide the trepidation in Ethan's clear blue eyes as he met the unflappable green of Colin's gaze before he looked across at Revelation rolling, lightless, beside them. Driving rain rattled sharply against the hood of Ethan's survival suit as Colin's grip tightened. "Don't miss!" Colin yelled above the storm. Ethan pulled away. "Asshole!" he shot back with a grin. They leapt. As their knees bruised and their hands scrabbled madly for any purchase on Revelation's sea-slickened deck, they were unaware that they had flung themselves into a web that had snarled so many like them so many times before. Time again. Aboard The Case in Point in March 2010, Colin, Ethan, and their five deckhands set out from Port Saint Anne, Alaska into the teeth of the Sitka Herring War. The specter of Revelation rises again. Enigmatic lights, voices of the familiar dead, and glimpses of some unknown horror target them one by one. Each man clings anxiously to the hope that none of it is real, but realizes that every set of their net may drag aboard their deadliest catch.A woman out of her time, flickering between flesh and bone, portends their approaching ruin. She is the stuff of legend, of frantic and despairing entries in dusty ships' logs and diaries of her damned. Forgotten, forsaken, Elizabeth Hartt desperately needs Ethan's help while needing, desperately, to tear out his heart and consume his crew. The boundaries of history and legend blur as coincidence evaporates and trusts shatter. As March wanes, Ethan and his crew slip closer to the edge of death. Long-undead revenants, guardian totems, and the terror of The Reach conspire to pull ordinary fishing boys through frightening events worthy of the old saying about a fisherman's tale.

About the Author

Amy K. Marshall has been an archaeologist, curator, archivist, conservator, wreck diver, sled dog race project manager and logistics chief, line chef, waitress, forklift operator, newspaper delivery girl, musical theater director, actress, small business owner, musician, shovel bum, and crew chief . She holds a B.A. in Medieval Archaeology (this explains the odd jobs) and an M.A. in Maritime History & Nautical Archaeology from East Carolina University (this explains the whole boat fascination thing). She had the honor of being the first William D. Wilkerson Fellow (1995) at The Mariners' Museum. She was also the recipient of The Commander's Award for Civilian Service (U.S. Army, Fort Bliss) in 2000. Her monograph, "A History of Buoys and Tenders" published by the U.S. Coast Guard remains in print 20 years later. Her unpublished "Preliminary Ordnance Report: The Wreck of The Pirate Ship WHYDAH" remains in circulation among her peers. She is currently the Library Director for the small fishing town of Craig, Alaska on Prince of Wales Island. In 2011, she was featured in LIBRARIES: A DIGITAL BRIDGE, a video series produced by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that seeks to demonstrate the potential of broadband connectivity in libraries across the United States. She is a manic advocate for literacy and is involved in a number of projects to promote literacy locally and world-wide. She resides in Craig with her husband, two teenagers (this goes far in explaining the whole horror writer thing), dark-fairy-hunting cat, and psychotic Border collie; all of whom she loves beyond all measure.

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