What are your ties to Maine or the Boothbay Peninsula?
The Nichols side of my family has lived in Maine since the mid 1700's. Another branch (Blaisdell) goes back to the famous wreck of the Angel Gabriel off Pemaquid in 1639.
What is your favorite thing about writing in Maine?
I love writing about the working folks of Maine, their independence, their strength and everyday wit and humor. I love the dramatic landscape, too: the sea, the rivers, the woods.
What are the most important themes in your work?
I think the main theme would be the search for connection and meaning in an individual's life, the quiet strength it sometimes takes to persevere.
Tell us about the book you will be signing at Books In Boothbay this year?
Closer All The Time is a novel-in-stories, centered in the fictional town of Baxter, Maine. It is an intimate look at a small river town, its inhabitants and their sometimes tragic search for connection.
What do you hope readers will discover in your latest book?
I hope they lose themselves in the sometimes funny, sometimes tragic but always (I hope) interesting human lives of these small town people.
What have you enjoyed about attending Books in Boothbay?
I really enjoy the sense of community with all the writers and readers and book-lovers. I also love the Boothbay setting in general and, in particular, the Railway Village. Such a fun place to have a literary get-together.
What do you feel about the future of our local libraries?
I hope they maintain their position in our culture as a focal point for learning. To me they're like the churches of our literary heritage.
Come meet Jim Nichols and many, many other Maine authors at Books in Boothbay on July 11!
