The Tide Waits for No Woman
By Richard K. Perkins
Publisher: Köehler Books
Release Date: September 16, 2025
ISBN: 979-8888248041
Genre: Historical Fiction, American Civil War
Newlywed Abby Anderson is unsure whether to call herself a widow. In July of 1860, as the nation teeters on the brink of war, word comes that her merchant captain husband, Clifford, has been lost to the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Rejecting social expectations regarding proper mourning, Abby agrees to assist in an Underground Railroad operation out of her hometown of Woolwich, Maine. But an early October winter storm catches Abby and the fugitive slave family she’s smuggling, and they find themselves snowed in with Bill Boudreaux, an Acadian trapper and farmer, and two Abenaki teenagers in the remote Maine wilderness.
The unlikely companions must work together to ensure their survival through the long, harsh winter and find themselves growing closer, creating an unexpected family few societies would approve of—and leaving Abby with what feels like an impossible choice. When spring comes, she will continue her quest to see the fugitive family safely to Canada. And then, she must decide where she truly belongs.
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About the Author
Richard K. Perkins was born in Salem, Massachusetts, and grew up in two New England villages. He is a US Naval Academy graduate, a career naval officer, and a systems engineer in the aerospace sector. He earned graduate degrees from the National Intelligence University, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, and the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He has contributed nonfiction columns for The Doctor T. J. Eckleburg Review and published short fiction in Penn Union. He lives with his wife in Southeastern Virginia, where he spends his time penning historical fiction.
