Dear Ms. Young:

Roughly 35 years ago, when I was 7 or so, my dad took me on a little father-daughter trip to Ogunquit. It was September, as I remember, and very quiet up there, but so pretty. We went into Perkins Cove, and my dad, who loved the ocean, asked a lobsterman if we could go aboard the boat. The boat’s name was the Ugly Anne. The people were really nice, and they let us come out and pull pots with them for a few hours, My dad took some pictures.

To make a long story short, I grew up (as you might have guessed). After having a couple of kids, I became a writer of romantic comedies. For my second book, I decided to have my hero be a lobsterman because I think people who work alone on the sea are pretty romantic. And because one of the hallmarks of a writer is a long memory, I named his boat the Ugly Anne in honor of the nice folks who took us out that day.

My book came out in October. Recently, I got a letter from a New Hampshire woman who read my book. She said she’d just been to Perkins Cove, and the Ugly Anne is still there. This news got me so excited that I Googled your boat, went to your website and got your e-mail.

Attached are two pictures from that long ago day. I wonder if the boat and the young lady look familiar to you.

I’ll be sending you a copy of Catch of the Day tomorrow. When I was writing the book, I did a fair amount of research on lobstering, but I’m sure a real Maine professional will find a few mistakes. Sorry about that. And if you are the same lady from the boat that day, thank you for a lovely and much cherished memory. My dad died about 20 years ago, and that trip was one of our happiest times together. Obviously, I never forgot about our day on the Ugly Anne. And if it’s not you, well, your boat still got a little famous.

Very best wishes,

Kristan Higgins

www.kristanhiggins.com