A Spider Sat Beside Her

A Spider Sat Beside Her is a science fiction "what if" story set in a world drowned after a catastrophic melting of the ice caps.Lowry Walker takes a graduate position on the new International Space Station, circling far above a world flooded by oceans and social strife. Her dissertation includes gathering Landsat data over Antarctica, now exposed after global warming has melted the ice caps, but her mission is to heal herself after divorcing an abusive husband.However, the danger is just beginning--a terrorist attack on the space station embroils her into a political nightmare. In a world drowned by rising seas, territorial battles erupt across the globe, with strong governments stealing land from the weak. Canada and America have merged into the United States of Amerada, with a corrupt political ring in control, and who utilize the assault for their own political purposes. And Lowry is the inconvenient witness...Excerpt: He began to speak, and Lowry flinched against his breath caressing her cheek. "You see, Lowry, life just isn't fair. The settlers are moving into the land to the north, just like the European settlers did when this continent was first colonized."

 His voice dropped to a whisper, and the hair rose on the back of Lowry's neck. "It's as simple as this: the people of Amerada want that land, and the people will get it." He smiled down at her with teeth perfect and white. "And there's not a rat's-ass thing you or I can do about it. It's the human way."