The Scrimshaw

Spring 1858, Nantucket Island.Just outside of the harbor, a ship is approaching. She is the Elizabeth James, a trading vessel, home to Jeptha Dawes after two years in the South Sea Islands. But the Elizabeth James will not be enjoying the welcoming lights of Nantucket Town this night, because the cargo carried by the Yankee clipper ship is not just silks and spices. It's something that the ship's dying captain has sworn must never be allowed to set foot in the town of his birth. It is a cargo of pure evil....Summer 1968, Cape Cod.Mick and Bridget ride on a 650 cc BSA motorcycle as it roars them over the Bourne Bridge spanning the Cape Cod Canal. They don't care about everyday life. They're on vacation, heading for a well-deserved rest, far away from city cares and hassles. They've picked out a quiet little town halfway up the Cape Cod peninsula. There, they plan to relax in a quaint white clapboard inn, surrounded by beach plums and primroses, encircled by nothing but sand, sea, and each other.Peace, quiet, and safety.Or so they think.What they don't know is that they're riding smack dab into the middle of trouble....And something that's been waiting...for 110 years.

Ric Wasley grew up in the Boston area. As a college student he played music and was involved in the vibrant world of social change that was Harvard Square in the late sixties. This later became the inspiration for his “McCarthy Family” series.Ric has been writing for over 30 years. He has been published in several literary magazines in L.A. and San Francisco while living in California. He currently lives outside of Boston with his wife and three children, works for a major media company, and retains his love of music and writing.