Fiction. "The sea ain't got no back door," Ikie Wong always told Harriette Leacock. "But believe, it have nuff stories." Earth's Waters surround Barbados. They entice tourists, beckon some islanders "Away," and imprison others in a false bar reef paradise. "Sistren, nobody nevah tell you 'bout frogfish? Yeah, girl. There is a fish call frogfish. It is a strange, rare fish. One of a kind." At first docile, reticent, "her shoulders creeping up next to her ears," always longing for her beloved sea, Harriette Leacock endures a violent and demeaning Barbadian boyfriend, an orthodox and compassionless grandmother, and her own besetting passivity, all the while searching for that "beautiful-ugly sea creature," her own new and bourgeoning self-confidence. EARTH'S WATERS won a bronze in the 2007 Independent Publishers Awards for Multicultural fiction.

Author City: New York, NY USA

Nicole Blades was born and raised in Montreal. Her interest in journalism developed at York, where she contributed to the University's newspaper. After graduating in 1994 with a BA in Mass Communications and a BA in Psychology, she moved to New York City and worked at Essence magazine. In 1997, Nicole relocated to Barbados and worked as a features writer and editor for the Nation. Nicole went on to be president and co-founder of the San Francisco-based, online women's magazine SheNetworks. Later, she became an editor at sports giant ESPN, in New York, where she was instrumental in launching ESPN.com's lifestyle section. Nicole is currently working on a collection of short stories. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband, Scott.