Judith Gilman

Judith Gilman lived and worked aboard boats in the Caribbean for almost twenty-five years. Every day she spent hours underwater with charter guests, leading them along colorful reefs, introducing them to her favorite sea creatures. The swimmers glided through schools of yellowtail snapper and blue tang as the fish followed with hungry eyes, hoping for another piece of homemade bread from the ship's galley.

Often the explorers lay quietly on the surface of the water, arms outstretched, watching giant tarpon with shimmering silver scales as they moved gracefully through flashing schools of minnows. Judi led the way into underwater caverns lit only when the sun slipped low in the west, sharing a secret world where strange denizens of the deep lived in the darkness. Years of free diving for conch and lobster made Judi as comfortable under the water as in the galley of her boats. Perhaps this is why readers will find a different kind of mermaid in OHNALEE - Mermaid of Heceta Head. MERMAIDS OF THE SIUSLAW, Quest for the Eyes of Atlantis, the second book in this trilogy is available now in paperback and hardcover editions. Both books feature historic photos and the author's full page illustrations of Ohnalee and her people.

Local Oregon coast history combined with magic, metamorphosis and mystery. are key elements of these paranormal romance and adventure novels.

The author's first book, VOYAGE OF THE CAPRICORN LADY, Lost at Sea with Daniel T, Book 1, took readers on a true-life adventure as Judi and her husband cruised from Florida to the Caribbean on their sailing vessel Capricorn, a 40' Newporter Ketch. Arriving in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the couple embarked on a new career as charter operators.

In VOYAGE OF THE CAPRICORN LADY, The Shadow of his Smile, Book 2, the couple continue charter operations on the 71' Trumpy, Capricorn Lady, basing at Nanny Cay in the British Virgin Islands from 1980 to 1999. They lived aboard the boat and hosted charter guests from around the world. Book 2 turns out to be an obituary not only for Captain Dan but also for his boat. Capricorn Lady was sold to a new owner in 1998 but was destroyed by a Florida shipyard in February 2009. A video on UTube showed the vessel being reduced to a pile of rubble in less than one hour.

Judith Gilman lives and works in Leadville, Colorado during the fall and winter months and returns to Florence, Oregon in the spring. Her Old Town building was constructed in 1904 and was the home of the first Florence telephone company. Captain's Lady Books & Gifts now occupies the first floor of this historic structure.