# Erika Ashby — Short Fiction character guide

> Erika Ashby in Short Fiction by Henry Kuttner.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Erika, the unhappy Erika, the now pensive Erika

**First appearance:** 0000-the-secret-of-kralitz

## Snapshot

A sharp, competent agent who schemes to free her client from a studio contract while quietly enduring his hopeless, babbling devotion.

## Who they are

Erika Ashby takes ten percent of Nick Martin's earnings and has spent years deflecting his fits of modesty whenever he tries to propose. She is the one who realizes that Tolliver Watt's Paris departure is their last chance to break St. Cyr's hold on Martin's career. Her plan to see Watt alone, and her tart exasperation with Martin's cowardice, make her the practical center of a story about who really controls a writer's life.

## Relationships

### [Nicholas Martin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_27_se/characters/nicholas_martin)

_romantic_

Erika and Nicholas share a deeply passionate and tumultuous romantic relationship, marked by intense emotional highs and lows.

### [Nicholas Martin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_27_se/characters/nicholas_martin)

_romantic_

Erika and Nicholas share a deeply passionate and tumultuous romantic relationship, marked by intense emotional highs and lows.

### [Nicholas Martin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_27_se/characters/nicholas_martin)

_romantic_

Erika and Nicholas share a deeply passionate and tumultuous romantic relationship, marked by intense emotional highs and lows.

## In the story

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_27_se/chapters/i)

Martin's friend who urges him to confront St. Cyr and Watt to break his contract.

### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_27_se/chapters/ii)

Appears at the door, interrupting Martin's confrontation with St. Cyr and Watt.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_27_se/chapters/iii)

Martin's agent and fiancée, she is frustrated by his cowardice but determined to secure his contract release from Watt.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_27_se/characters/erika_ashby
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_27_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_27_se/characters