Former best friends Scott and Errol meet unexpectedly at Oso Lake, a remote Canadian fly-fishing paradise where, five years before, fresh out of college, they had the time of their lives. Their situations, though, have changed, their high hopes quashed by workaday realities and, in Errol's case, marriage to Claire, who has come with him trying to stave off divorce. But Oso Lake has changed. The fall before, a woman's severed head was left in a campfire pit beside the lake. The shadow cast by her murder is darkened further by a fire-scarred white truck driver who claims to be a long-dead Native shaman and has plans to eradicate not only Scott, Errol, and Claire, but all of Western civilization. The beauty of the wilderness becomes, every day, more threatening and perverse. But the worst danger the vacationers face may be themselves.

About the Author
Called "Southern California's most inventive and accessible poet," Charles Harper Webb is the nation's foremost proponent of stand up poetry. A former professional rock singer/guitarist and licensed psychotherapist, he is professor of English at California State University, Long Beach. His latest of twelve collections of poetry is Sidebend World (University of Pittsburgh, 2018). Webb has published a collection of essays, A Million MFAs Are Not Enough (Red Hen, 2016), and edited Stand Up Poetry: An Expanded Anthology (University of Iowa, 2002), used as a text in many universities. His awards include a Whiting Writer's Award, a Tufts Discovery Award, and a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation. An avid fly-fisherman, he lives in Los Angeles, CA.

Reviews

"Ursula Lake is a rare novel that is equal parts lyrical and suspenseful. Charles Webb uses his poet's voice to weave a haunting tale that marries the latent horrors of the natural world to the dark hearts of the humans who inhabit it." -Ivy Pochoda, author of These Women

"Nobody handles language like a poet. So whenever I see a novel written by a poet I admire, I know I'm in for a treat. Charles Harper Webb's Ursula Lake is scary, emotionally wrenching, sexy, tender, and full of natural beauty. It's also lively, fast-paced, and fun to read as it rips into the comforting lies that prop civilization up. In this novel, Webb shows why he's won so many writing awards. Take my advice and plunge head-first into Ursula Lake." -Ron Koertge, author of Olympusville

"This thriller delivers a taut, captivating story, rich with its characters, settings and pace." -The Culture Buzz on 98.9 FM

"Some authors just seem to have a natural flair for language and the kind of narrative driven storytelling that uplifts their fiction into the kind of novel that lingers on the mind and memory long after the book itself has been finished and set back upon the shelf. With the publication of Ursula Lake, author Charles Harper Webb demonstrates that he himself is one of those impressive novelists. With a special blend of romance, friendship, and action/adventure, Ursula Lake is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal reading lists and community, college, and university library Contemporary Fiction collections."-Midwest Review of Books

Book Information
ISBN 9781636280219
Author Charles Harper Webb
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Red Hen Press
Publisher Red Hen Press