I started out wanting to write about this amazing scallop fisherwoman I knew on Cape Cod, but as I went along, I realized that I didn’t want so much a character-driven book as a plot driven thriller.
Judy Foreman – 29 August 2026
The Back Flap
In this thriller, star investigative reporter Samantha Fuller joins a feisty Cape Cod fisherwoman to foil a wind farm developer’s evil plot to poison precious ocean scallop beds—and finds herself facing off against right-wing climate deniers.
About the book
What is the book about
This is a thriller that takes place in Provincetown, MA. It pits a feisty scallop fisherwoman, Isabella Ferreira, and a female investigative reporter against a sleazy wind farm developer who wants to poison nearby scallop beds in order install his wind turbines right off the coast of Cape Cod.
The wind farm developer, Olaf Svensson, secretly hires a pair of just-married marine biologists, Leif and Astrid Borgen, who work at a nearby scallop hatchery, owned by fisherman-turned entrepreneur, Mark Strong. At the hatchery, Leif and Astrid are using CRISPR, the new gene editing technique, to insert a growth hormone gene into scallop embryos to make them bigger, and thus more profitable, a process that is legal, and already done in salmon.
But unbeknownst to Mark Strong, Svensson has secretly hired the pair to also insert into the embryos the deadly saxitoxin gene, which causes PSP, paralytic shellfish poisoning. If his plan works, no one will ever be able to eat scallops from this site again, thus freeing it up for Svensson’s turbines.
Enter Pulitzer-prize winning reporter from The Boston Times, Samantha Fuller, who makes friends with Isabella. Together, they slowly begin to uncover Svensson’s deadly plot — but not before hundreds of people die.
And not before they learn to their horror that the seemingly simple narrative of fishermen against wind farms is far more sinister than they thought, as a group of well-funded, right-wing anti-wind climate deniers try to use Isabella’s local scallopers group as a front for their tactics.
Along the way, love blossoms, a tragic accident occurs in the hatchery lab, a dramatic suicide happens and the subtleties of the pro and anti-wind power groups are exposed.
When did you start writing the book?
About four years ago.
How long did it take you to write it?
Well, I was busy with teaching and with other writing, and especially, doing the research for this book, so it took probably a good solid year total of intensive writing.
Where did you get the idea from?
I started out wanting to write about this amazing scallop fisherwoman I knew on Cape Cod, but as I went along, I realized that I didn’t want so much a character-driven book as a plot driven thriller. So I built the plot around my character. I wanted to use my journalistic experience in writing about gene editing to make that part of the plot so I spoke to a number of biologists and geneticists about which deadly gene I could make be the centerpiece of the plot.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
As a journalist schooled in making things clear and straightforward, it’s a challenge for me writing fiction and keeping track of which character knows which piece of information when.
What came easily?
The descriptions of the town of Provincetown, which I love.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
The reporter in this novel is obviously based on myself and the joy and energy I felt as a journalist. The feisty scallop fisherwoman is based on a real woman I know. The Swedish scientist is made up, but based on scientists I know. The evil windfarm developer is based on a real, but NOT evil windfarm developer I interviewed.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
I love Kristin Hannah, Tess Gerritsen, Kate Quinn and lately, Kiran Desai. I love their plotting, the sensitivity to women’s feelings and the skill in storytelling.
Do you have a target reader?
Only unconsciously….I’d have to say my target readers are educated, liberal, engaged people, both men and women.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I don’t keep to a strict writing schedule as some authors do. I usually do my usual daily stuff – teaching, swimming, etc – then settle down to write in the mid to late afternoon. Maybe it’s years of working at a daily newspaper (The Boston Globe), but I seem to write best in the afternoon (as deadline approached!).
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
Oh, I outline a lot, usually on a big white board, and then I change things around. But what I love best about the creative process is not quite knowing what will happen, ie. letting the characters and the plot drive the story, at least to some degree.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I do minor edits as a I go along, but I try to keep the big structural edits until I’m done with a first draft.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
No, I don’t listen to music.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
Initially, yes. Lately, no.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
My first indie publisher was She Writes Press, which I was attracted to because I was writing a very personal memoir and I felt that She Writes was a place for that book to land. After that experience, I decided to stick with She Writes for my current thriller because it was a relatively easy publishing path.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
She Writes Press did it and I loved it.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
I’m definitely not winging it. I work hard at the marketing, including approaching bookstores for book talks, sending out emails, etc. It’s a lot of work.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Just do it.
About You
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Pelham, NY, but have lived my entire adult life in the Boston area.
Where do you live now?
Cambridge, MA
What would you like readers to know about you?
That I love and loved being a journalist and that I feel very lucky to have stumbled upon work that fits so well with my personality.
What are you working on now?
Probably another thriller.
End of Interview:
Get your copy of The Scallop Plot from Amazon US.