The Eastern Shore is a unique place, so it’s fitting that this new anthology features writers and writing from our Chesapeake Bay region. Bay to Ocean: The Year’s Best Writing from the Eastern Shore offers fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that capture some of the spirit of the region.

For this anthology, I wrote a short story called “Last Stand at Turkey Point Light” that imagines an attack by a German U-boat on Turkey Point Lighthouse. This may seem farfetched, but some of the historical facts back up the fact that there were concerns about security at what was then an important aid to navigation for wartime shipping. U-boats prowled the Atlantic coast, so the Intracoastal waterway provided a safer alternative route for everything from supplies to troops. Could one of those U-boats slipped into the upper Chesapeake Bay intent on wreaking havoc? All that stands between these German saboteurs and Turkey Point is a character who closely resembles Fannie May Salter, the brave light keeper personally appointed by President Calvin Coolidge.

Read the story and you may find yourself wondering if the attack really could have happened and was simply kept out of the news.

It was a pleasure to have this story selected for Bay to Ocean, and the story is in good company. Some of the offerings are fun and some are serious. In particular, I really enjoyed the poetry by Tara A. Elliott, Pat Valdata, and Wendy Elizabeth Ingersoll, among others. The thing about poetry is that a poem may take just a few minutes to read, but it echoes for a long time so that you will find yourself savoring the thoughts and images that these words bring to mind.

This book is a must-have for those interested in the culture and history of the region. Of course, sales help to support the Eastern Shore Writers Association and its activities, including the Canal Town Writers Conference. Copies are available at amazon.com and also at small shops throughout the region.