Two comedy greats talk life, friendship and the joys of fishing

Clearing his throat, Pete said, "I have some really bad news, guys; the explosion blew a big hole in the bottom of the cabin. I can hear sea water rushing in; it's already flooding through the hold in the floor." On a peaceful, sunny Sunday in 1948, six couples from Ocala, Florida, step onto a wooden boat named Hazy Days docked off the Gulf of Mexico. It's nearly thirty-eight feet of old Florida charm, with gaily painted racing stripes and enough room for the women to chat and the men to stretch out and fish. The boat cruises under the expert care of its captain, the old salt L. B. Wilson and his fishing guide, trusted friend, and close ally Buck Gilley. The two expect little more on this fine Florida Sunday than a slight sunburn and an ice bin full of fresh Florida grouper. But tragedy strikes the Hazy Days some thirty miles off the coast. It catches fire, and all fourteen hearty souls are forced to dive into the salty brine. Among them, they share nine life vests. But it's not enough-nine innocent lives are lost. Author Anzie Norris lost her aunt and two uncles in the accident and seeks to tell their heartbreaking story in Gone Fishing: A Novel of Old Florida and Her Tragic Seas.

Children are invited to join nine-year-old Catfish Sam as he captures a day of adventure in his netNand in verseNin this unique novel told through poems and comic illustrations.

The author captures the elusive truth about the joy of fishing in Wisconsin in word and image (with nearly 90 full-color photographs): there's more to fishing than catching fish.

Gone Fishing: The Line Sinker is a powerful and delectable tale of a young mother searching for answers to questions regarding her own mother, and a journey of discovery that yields answers and new meaning to her life and the lives of others around her. On the eve of 1981, the drama continues to unfold in this, the third and final installment of the Gone Fishing trilogy, Gone Fishing: The Sinker. In this stunning finish, we follow Ethel as she endeavors to discover the identity of the other woman in the picture with her mother. This picture is the last unexplained item in a cherished collection of Ethel’s mother’s things. Will this unknown woman know the whereabouts of Ethel’s half sister? Will Ethel ever understand the circumstances that brought her mother to take a vow of silence? And who was in that terrible accident on that snowy evening? Did they survive? A world of adoption and a home for unwed mothers reveals to Ethel the true price her mother paid, as Ethel and her husband, Charlie, travel throughout New England to find the answers. And through it all, the colorful characters of Piney Bluffs, beginning with Ethel’s Daddy, Eddy, and on to Caleb, Sadie, Miss Ruthie, Big Beulah, Ginny and the rest, remind Ethel of the goodness of small-town Maine that surrounds her as she follows her heart to the truth. This truth will give a voice to the silence of her mother’s past. Piney Bluffs, and its spirit, creativity, and Yankee ingenuity, is a blueprint for all small New England towns to embrace. Follow her at http//www.janeherrdesrosiers.com or on Facebook at Jane Herr Desrosiers. For her blog: See Jane, See Jane Write.

A father and son go fishing, with a big fishing rod for the daddy and a little one for the child.

It is the fall of 1980 when Ethel O'Connor follows the letters and pictures in her Momma's box, the only possession she thinks she inherited from the mother she lost at birth, to the quiet town of Oxford, Maine, where her mother, Stephanie, was born. Ethel and Charlie's young son isn't walking, and Ethel wonders if there is some congenital disease she should know about on her mother's side. But the mystery of her mother is not answered by letters or pictures and certainly not from the visit to O