Astute readers will notice the geographic similarities between the real life Kachemak Bay and the wholly imaginary Chungasqak Bay. Liam’s new post was inspired by but not based on the real thing, in much the same way his old post of Newenham was inspired by but not based on Dillingham. It is, you might say, a distinction with a difference, and in this case a whole lot of differences, beginning with place names. I love true local place names and many of the names herein were found in online dictionaries like Liicugtukut Alutiit’stun. By all accounts the old folks were practical people and if there was a bay where the blueberries grew especially well I’m betting they would have called such a place Blueberry Bay, so I did, too.

Oil companies were run out of Kachemak Bay decades ago, mostly due to their own ineptitude. Chungasqak Bay, not so much. I mean it to be a fictional reflection of the eternal Alaskan fight between maintaining the natural resources that have nourished Alaskans for millennia and the commercial extraction of fossil fuels and precious minerals that provide jobs and the state taxes that pay to fix potholes. If you want to start a fight, stand on a street corner anywhere in Alaska and take one side or the other.

The bits and pieces found by the archeologist were inspired by Janet R. Klein’s ‘The Fort Kenai Collection,’ collected in 150 Years: Proceedings of the 2017 Kenai Peninsula History Conference. Klein has written a lot about history and archeology in Alaska, including Archeology in Alaska and Kachemak Bay Communities: Their Histories, Their Mysteries, and with her daughter co-authored a children’s book called Alaska Dinosaurs and other Cretaceous Creatures. It doubles as a coloring book, and the icon for carnivore is hilarious. My recommendation for any kid’s next birthday present. You’re welcome.

About the author

DANA STABENOW was born in Anchorage, Alaska and raised on a 75-foot fishing tender. She knew there was a warmer, drier job out there somewhere and found it in writing. Her first Kate Shugak book, A Cold Day for Murder, received an Edgar Award from the Crime Writers of America. Find her online at stabenow.com

LIAM CAMPBELL INVESTIGATIONS

KATE SHUGAK INVESTIGATIONS

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