Thanks for another great year!

Another year has come and gone! Thanks to all of our amazing authors and illustrators who came out to this year's Books in Boothbay! And thanks, too, to all of the wonderful people who came out to meet them and pick up copies of their books. We hope you all had a great a time as we did.

The event may be over, but memories live on: You can see some great photos from this year's event on our Facebook page.

See you again next year!

Today's the Day!

This is it! Books in Boothbay is going on TODAY at Boothbay Railway Village in Boothbay, Maine. Authors and illustrators of books for kids will be on hand in the morning, while adults can build up their own libraries during the afternoon. And remember -- admission is free! Come on down, we can't wait to see you!

Our complete list of authors!

Books in Boothbay is just a few days away! Come meet all of our attending authors this Saturday, July 11. Children's authors and illustrators will be signing in the morning, while authors for adults will be on hand during the afternoon. We look forward to seeing you!

Betsey Anderson

Cady Elizabeth Arnold

Emerson W. Baker

Ben Bishop

Cheryl Blaydon

Jen Blood

P.D. Callahan

Joy Cameron

Ellen Cooney

Russ Cox

Jessie Crockett

Brian Daniels

Ronna Lambiasi DeLoe

Don Denico

Paul Doiron

Kaitlyn Dunnett

Kathy Lynn Emerson

Cathryn Falwell

Peter Felsenthal

Melissa Falcon Field

Kathie Fiveash

Kate Flora

Sarah Gagnon

Medea Harris

Fran Hodgkins

Jayne Rowe Jones

Brian Kevin

Liza Kleinman

Pat Lammers

Mary Lawrence

Teri Lee

Christopher Lockwood

Glenda MacLachlan

Francine McEwen

Wesley McNair

Kathryn Miles

Christopher Morin

Eva Murray

Hilary Nangle

Jim Nichols

Jane Parker

Cathie Pelletier

Paige Pendleton

Helen Peppe

Jay Piscopo

Lynn Plourde

Steven Powell

Gary Rainford

Mark Scott Ricketts

Bill Roorbach

Connie Saindon

Frank O Smith

Julia Spencer-Fleming

Brenda Reeves Sturgis

John Swan

Diane Taylor-Moore

JoJo Thoreau

Jacqueline Tourville

Wendy Ulmer

Susan Vaughan

Lea Wait

Russell Warnberg

Barbara T. Winslow

Jennifer Wixson

Don Denico

Don Denico -- author of Can a Frog Fly? and other books -- grew up in Vassalboro, Maine and graduated from Winslow High School and the University of Southern Maine for both his undergraduate and graduate degrees. He is married to his wife, Bonny and they have two wonderful children. They reside in Standish, Maine where Don teaches at Bonny Eagle High School. Outside of his formal education he has passed the Maine Guides test, has taught drivers' education, and has achieved the rank of Black belt in Shaolin Kempo style Karate. He loves the challenge of building anything. His latest building project was a rib and plank Grand Laker Canoe. The Wood Chuck Valley Tales are stories he has created for his kids on the way to his family's camp in the deep woods of Maine. These stories were to keep them interested in the woods around them, off of electronic devices, and hopefully teach them some life lessons along the way.

Christopher W. Morin

Christopher W. Morin, author of A Tale of Life & War, was born, raised, and currently resides in Portland, Maine. He received a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Maine at Orono. He is a history enthusiast and has enjoyed creative writing since penning his first short story back in second grade.

Come meet Christopher W. Morin and all of our other authors at Books in Boothbay, this Saturday, July 11!

Brian Kevin

Brian Kevin is the author of The Footloose American: Following the Hunter S. Thompson Trail Across South America

What are your ties to Maine or the Boothbay Peninsula?

I live just up the road, in Damariscotta. I've lived in Maine for about 5 years now, since my wife (who grew up in Cape Elizabeth) found me in Montana and convinced me to give the East a try. I'm also an editor at Down East magazine, so a lot of my writing life lately is Maine-centric.

What is your favorite thing about writing in Maine?

The psychographic diversity of this state appeals to me quite a bit, the way you can spend a weekend hanging around Portland, another visiting Rangeley, another on the midcoast, another passing through Washington County, and another exploring the County, and feel like you've drifted through five pretty distinct micro-cultures.

What are the most important themes in your work?

I'm a pretty loud and proud generalist -- I try to cover as diverse a slate of topics in a given year as I possibly can, and I try to keep the formal approach fresh. That being said, I think a lot of the stories I'm most drawn to have something to do with displacement and/or slippery definitions of wildness.

Tell us about the book you will be signing at Books In Boothbay this year?

I'll be signing copies of The Footloose American: Following the Hunter S. Thompson Trail Across South America, a travel book published last year, which finds me retracing the route that a young Hunter S. Thompson traveled as a freelance foreign correspondent in the early 1960s, long before he came to fame as a self-proclaimed "gonzo journalist." It's a road narrative that explores culture, politics, and ecology in 21st century South America, with Thompson's ghost as a traveling companion and guide.

What do you hope readers will discover in your latest book?

I think the book raises a questions about what it means to be an American abroad, about how immersion in a foreign culture changes a person and how it doesn't, and about how travelers leave their mark on the places they pass through. I hope readers come away from the book with a punch of potential answers to these questions they hadn't otherwise considered.

What do you feel about the future of our local libraries?

I haven't given it a lot of thought, but I know I'm fond of my own local library, Skidompha Public Library, here in Damariscotta. I imagine the big challenge before libraries is how to remain relevant in an increasingly digital age — not just because of ebooks, but because of the many digital commons available to us that fill some of the roles libraries once filled. I do hope that bigger institutions especially manage to keep a focus on being research repositories, rather than shifting their emphases to say, DVD lending or internet access in the name of attracting the most patrons.

Come meet Brian Kevin and other Maine authors this Saturday at Books in Boothbay!

Pat Lammers

Pat Lammers served as a Peace Corps Volunteer from 1973-1976 in the Kingdom of Tonga, South Pacific. She introduced an English reading program to about 100 teachers. She was later a Park Ranger at Antietam National Battlefield, giving CW talks, firing a black powder rifle and a 12 pound cannon. She recently retired from the Portland Public School System where she taught fourth graders how to research topics and infiltrate facts into poetry. Pat currently lives in Bowdoin, Maine, spending her time observing nature, gardening, and of course - writing poetry.

Come meet Pat Lammers at Books in Boothbay this Saturday, July 11!

John Swan

John Swan has had an extensive career as as a fine artist. His work is admired and collected world wide, and represents his many interests , travels and adventures.

A native of Maine, he divides his time between his studio home in Portland, his summer home in Rangeley, and the Bahamas where he spends a large part of every winter chasing bonefish and painting his brilliantly colored tropical watercolors.

"Pancakes and Fireflies" is his first children's book, which he has both written and illustrated. Inspired by John's grandson James, it is a story of a young boy who in the company of his father and grandfather experiences a special day of wonder and exploration in the great outdoors.

For more info on John Swan, visit www.johnswanfineart.com

Come meet John Swan and many more Maine authors at Books in Boothbay -- this Saturday, July 11!

Eva Murray

Eva Murray moved to Matinicus Island in 1987 expecting to serve for one year as the island's kindergarten-to-8th grade one-room school teacher. Instead of moving on afterward, she married and has been a full-time and year-round island resident for the past 28 years. Eva and her husband Paul, the island electrician, raised their two children on Matinicus (both have now graduated from college).

For roughly 15 years Eva has been a regular columnist for a number of Maine newspapers and magazines. Her first book, Well Out to Sea—Year-round on Matinicus Island, is a collection of essays describing the details of offshore life. Some of the short pieces are touching, many are irreverent, and all provide insight into “how things really work” on a remote Maine island.

Eva’s second book, Island Schoolhouse—One room for all takes the reader inside Maine’s remaining public one-room elementary schools, introducing teachers, students and communities for whom one-room school is an ordinary, 21st-century reality.

In Island Birthday, Eva’s first book for children, readers sense the exasperation all islanders feel when bad weather interferes with transportation, as it so often does! Riley, a boy of about eight, waits a bit impatiently for his birthday presents which must be delivered by airplane across the water. As he visits with his hardworking neighbors—a lobster boat crew, a working artist, the postal clerk, the telephone man, etc.-- he sees that everybody is waiting for something, and the inconveniences of island life are made up for by close friendships and a supportive community.

In addition to working as a freelance writer Eva Murray is an emergency medical technician, wilderness first responder, CPR instructor and SAR volunteer; she runs Matinicus Island’s solid waste and recycling program; she operates an island bakery each summer, and she is finishing work on a graduate certificate in Gifted and Talented Education. She is also a student pilot.

Come meet Eva Murray and many other Maine authors at Books in Boothbay on July 11!

Liza Kleinman

Liza Kleinman is a freelance writer who lives in Portland, Maine. Her fiction has appeared in several magazines, including Crossborder, Hayden's Ferry Review, and Portland Magazine, as well as in the anthology Writes of Passage: Coming of Age Stories and Memoirs from the Hudson Review. Her first novel, Azalea, Unschooled, was published by Islandport Press in May 2015.

Wendy Ulmer

Wendy Ulmer, author of My Twelve Maine Christmas Days, is a former public school music and English teacher with 21years experience. Prior to teaching, she was a Registered Music Therapist, working in both clinical and public school settings.

Come meet Wendy Ulmer at Books in Boothbay!

Glenda MacLauchlan

Glenda MacLauchlan's There Is Life After Martinis tells a poignant story of a woman’s journey from the crippling shackles of alcoholism to a joyful life of sobriety.

Like many others, Glenda was raised in a chaotic home. The damage done in childhood led to a life of tension, fear and learned unhealthy behaviors. Encouraged by mom and dad, she started drinking in her teens. She recounts a story of spiralling down the same path as her parents. For way too long, she insisted life as “party girl” was what she wanted, right up until her arrest for drunken driving.

Glenda shares colorful, sometimes humorous stories of life in her 20’s living in Hawaii. Her love of music, especially Elvis Presley’s, provided refuge in childhood and remains a constant today.

Come meet Glenda MacLauchlan and other Maine authors at Books in Boothbay on July 11!

Connie Saindon

Connie Saindon is the author of the Murder Survivor's Handbook.


What are your ties to Maine or the Boothbay Peninsula?
I was born in Boothbay Harbor which is where my grandparents lived. Gramps worked at Sampson Ship Yard and was and painter. My mother bought a cottage in Ocean Point and I purchased it from her in 1991. Since then I have come  to Boothbay every summer. I winter in San Diego, CA where I developed my career as a mental health professional. 

What is your favorite thing about writing in Maine?
The subject I have been writing about it a tough one. Having the incredible beauty of Maine and its nearby ocean serves to counterbalance the difficult topic for me. My twice daily walks in Ocean Point and the friendliness of all I encounter in the Boothbay area make it possible for me to write and get sustenance too. 

What are the most important themes in your work?

The themes in this work is focused on providing self-help for those who want to understand lives or must live a life changed by a violent death. 

Tell us about the book you will be signing at Books In Boothbay this year?

Murder Survivors Handbook: Real-Life Stories, Tips and Resources. Unlike CSI, this book will give readers  a true accounting of what folks go through when someone they loved was murdered. The topics are selected to be of greatest concern to survivors of murder where ever they live across the country. Although not an encyclopedia nor a bible, this is truly a resource that has not been available before. 

The book is organized with ten topics that those who had a loved one murdered may need resources on. There are eleven survivors who answer questions pertaining to each of the ten chapter topic. All survivors were granted anonymity in order to not only protect them from further harm but also to allow them to be candid.  

There are an additional 20 contributors and reviewers from criminal justice, mental health and research that add helpful information. Each chapter ends with additional resources to take the inquiry of the topic further.  

What do you hope readers will discover in your latest book?

I hope they will be able to remove any judgment about people who lose someone to murder. My brother aged nine could no longer play with his friend because his sister was murdered. 

I hope readers the resilience of the survivor writers  amid such enormous wounds of their " life sentence."

I hope survivors and those who work with them will find paths to follow and questions answered by using this resource.

What do you feel about the future of our local libraries? 

I see our libraries as a safe hub, rich in resources  where communities can connect and make a difference by strengthening and enriching our world. The local library can meld curiosity and divergent views  with resources and technology  at our fingertips amid meetings, trainings and discussions. 

Fran Hodgkins

Fran Hodgkins is the author of Secret Galaxy and other books.

What are your ties to Maine or the Boothbay Peninsula?

We’ve lived here in Maine for about seven years now. We had come to the midcoast area several times to do book events for Down East when we lived in Massachusetts, and when the time came to return to New England after living briefly in Maryland, we decided that the midcoast area was the right place for us.

What is your favorite thing about writing in Maine?

I love the community of writers and illustrators here. I also love being able to sit at my kitchen table with the windows open and hear the small river that runs behind my house. Inspiring!

What are the most important themes in your work?

As a nonfiction writer, curiosity is always important, and in my nonfiction work about animals, such as Little Loon and Andre, I’m always interested in how humans affect the lives of the other creatures with whom we share the planet.

Tell us about the books you will be signing at Books In Boothbay this year.

I’m not entirely sure what will be there, but here’s info on two of my latest. The Secret Galaxy came out from Tilbury House last October; it tells the story of the Milky Way galaxy in the galaxy’s own voice, including not just the science but also the cultural history of what people believed the galaxy to be when they saw it in the night sky.  In July Little Loon is due out from Down East; it’s the realistic story of a loon family.

What do you hope readers will discover in your latest book?
In The Secret Galaxy, I hope that readers will be inspired to get outside and look up at the sky. Maine is a wonderful place to stargaze because we don’t have as much light pollution as many other locations do. For readers who do live in places where it’s hard to see the night sky, I wanted to show them what there is to look forward to!

What do you feel about the future of our local libraries?
Libraries are the lifeblood of any community, and they, probably more than any other community institution, reflect the changes that society is experiencing, both culturally and technologically. Not everybody is pleased that libraries aren’t just for reading silently anymore, but they’ve changed. They offer technology access to those who cannot afford it on their own, and they’re the new “town square” – the place where people come together. I think that this role will continue to grow and that librarians will continue to be the best defense against Orwell’s Big Brother, ignorance, and intolerance. I guess you could say I’m a huge fan!

Come meet Fran Hodgkins and other Maine authors at Books in Boothbay on July 11!

Julia Spencer-Fleming

A former military brat, New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Julia Spencer-Fleming grew up in places as diverse as Montgomery, Rome, Stuttgart and Syracuse. A graduate of Ithaca College, George Washington University and the University of Maine School of Law, she took up writing while still a stay-at-home mother of two. During the time it took to finish her first novel, she got a full-time job at a Portland, Maine, law firm and had a third child. Julia didn’t want to write yet another lawyer-sleuth, so she used her army past and a keen eye for the goings-on at her Episcopal church to create Clare Fergusson, first female priest in the small Adirondack town of Millers Kill. The resulting series has won or been nominated for every American mystery award available, including the Edgar, the Anthony, and the Agatha. Her most recent book is Through the Evil Days.

Now happily quit of the law, Julia lives in the Maine countryside with her husband, daughter, and occasionally, a couple of college students. Learn more about her at www.juliaspencerfleming.com.

Come meet Julia-Spencer-Fleming at Books in Boothbay on July 11!

Francine McEwen

Francine McEwen is the author of Susan's Suitcase and other books.

What are your ties to Maine?

Born in Winthrop, MA (on the ocean). Father loved Maine and we went to Maine every year for our vacation (from one ocean to the other). I also went camping in Maine for many years at my sister’s campsite in Naples. Close friends of the family had a homestead in Harrison, Maine, where we spent many wonderful times. I had always wanted to live in Maine and was hired by Digital Equipment Corp. in Augusta. I happily relocated and have been here since 1977.

What is your favorite thing about writing in Maine?

The people in Maine are so wonderful and the area is peaceful, much different from the hectic pace of living and working in Boston. The calm and beauty of Maine really supports writing.

What are the most important themes in your work?
All of my writing is focused on helping children, from bullying prevention to dealing with the grieving/loss process.
       
Tell us about the book you will be signing at Books In Boothbay this year.

I will be signing my new book, Susan’s Suitcase, and my bullying book, Billy Big
Ears and Bob the Bully.

What do you hope reader will discover in your latest book?

Susan’s Suitcase is a true story to help parents talk with their children about the grieving process, I think they will discover that love never dies, and that there are supportive ways to get through difficult times.

What have you enjoyed about attending Books in Boothbay?

I was part of the Books in Boothbay event last year, and I thought it was a very important event to focus children on reading. I loved meeting and talking with the other Maine authors, and really enjoyed meeting parents and their children.

What do you feel about the future of our local libraries?

Augusta’s Lithgow Library and the Winthrop Library are both expanding, so that’s a good sign. I believe that the events that take place at our libraries really help to get people to support those libraries. I attended an event at the Winthrop Library that featured Tess Gerritsen, and most libraries offer readings by local authors for children. As long as the libraries keep up with the technology and other media changes, I think we will be fine.

Come meet Francine McEwen and other Maine authors at Books in Boothbay on July 11!

Hilary Nangle

Freelance journalist Hilary Nangle grew up on the Maine Coast, and despite out-of-state interludes for college, grad school, and a stint as a ski bum, she’s never been able to resist the lure of her home state. She indulges her sense of wanderlust by seeking out the offbeat and quirky, and rarely resisting the invitation of a back road, local farm stand, or lobster shack. She’s shared her finds in articles for national and regional publications, as well as on her MaineTravelMaven.com website and in her three Moon-series guidebooks: Moon Maine, Moon Coastal Maine, and Moon Acadia National Park. She’s also a National Geographic Expert for National Geographic Expeditions 2016 Maine excursions.

Come meet Hilary Nangle and other Maine authors at Books in Boothbay on July 11!

Cady Elizabeth Arnold

Cady Elizabeth “Betsy” Arnold, author of the "Tapestry" series, is a Social Worker who believes in the healing power of narrative. In addition, she believes in the beauty of the world, and the meaning to be found in relationships. She has the great good fortune to have served as a counselor in an elementary school, at two colleges, and in various other settings where students have shared their stories with her while on the path to healing and wholeness. 

Currently, she spends her non-writing time enjoying her family, spending time with friends, kayaking, mountain biking, eating chocolate, and taking long walks in the New Hampshire woods with her dog, Oscar.

To learn more about Cady visit www.thetapestrybooks.com

Come meet Cady Elizabeth Arnold at Books in Boothbay on July 11!

Kathie Fiveash

Kathie Fiveash is a lifelong naturalist and teacher who lives on Isle au Haut, an unbridged island in Penobscot Bay, Maine. Her book Island Naturalist is a compilation of columns she wrote about the ecology of the island for Stonington Maine’s local newspaper, Island Advantages.

Come meet Kathie Fiveash at Books in Boothbay on July 11!

Russell Warnberg

Russell Warnberg -- writer, teacher, artist and woodworker -- grew up in Minnesota. After joining the Navy, has spent most of his life in Maine. Having earned a degree from the University of Minnesota and a Masters degree from the University of Maine he taught history and English in both public and private schools for many years. He has sold a few paintings and many pieces of furniture he designed and built.  Finally, he decided it was time to write that novel he always dreamed about. It is not the novel that he had ever thought he would write, however, it turned out to be a lot more fun than he had  anticipated. The first novel was Edge of Redemption, followed shortly by The Chalk Line Killer, and now The Gateway Murders. These are all crime dramas set in Maine because this is where he draws his inspiration.

Come meet Russell Warnberg and many other thrilling authors at Books in Boothbay on July 11!