Maine transplant Susannah stumbles across the seen-better-days coastal town of Ossonet where she meets Owen Dodd—a man from a long line of shipbuilders, but also one whose family ceased schooner building decades ago. The two begin dating, and soon Susannah is spending time at Owen’s shipyard, intrigued by his plan to build a seventy-foot wooden schooner using age-old techniques few remember. But Susannah struggles to make a life in rural Maine, both at her new job as a newspaper reporter in nearby Clydebank and with Owen. As Owen assembles a chaotic group of shipwrights linked to the region's maritime past, this manly crew invites Susannah into their world of camaraderie and craftsman passion. Over a cold, Maine winter—with the deadline to launch the schooner fast approaching—her life in the shipyard reveals discoveries and passions of her own, driving a transformation in Susannah that mirrors the completion of the schooner.
Both Sides of the Pond: My Family's War (1933-1946)
In January of 1939 when Barbara Greene, a beautiful and successful young British actress, met Joe Kennedy Jr., son of the American Ambassador, she could not have expected that their relationship would lead to emigrating to America, piloting a plane to publicize Bundles for Britain, or marrying an American. Nor could her brother, Kent, have foreseen his bitter retreat from Dunkirk when he left England in January 1940 to fight in France, or his subsequent service in Cornwall, North Africa, Sicily, and Burma. Their stories portray the war on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and on the homefront and battlefront. In the words of Evan Thomas, a New York Times best-selling author, "Read this book and be shocked, thrilled and moved. From heady and improbable love affairs amidst the falling bombs to the gritty deprivations of daily life, it’s all here in a timeless, well-told tale.”
The Chayotes
Marti M.S. Reynolds
Maine Authors Publishing
When seasoned rock star Thørnn loses his ambition, he hastily escapes LA to a quaint beach town near San Luis Obispo, California. Befriending a surfer-drifter named Reggie, the two exchange rides: a Lamborghini for a bike and cart. Quickly discovering he’s not cut out for the rigors of transient life, Thørnn, disguised as vagrant guitarist "Stone," finds a barn to crash, where a group of aging, quirky musicians calling themselves “The Chayotes” regularly jams. Stone guides the musicians into realizing their rock-and-roll dreams, filling a void within himself through a fast-track plan to perform at a music festival in Monterey—a festival Reggie, in his adopted lifestyle and mistaken identity, has promised Thørnn would play as well. Sidestepping detectives, managers, and a mudslide, it’s a race up Big Sur for this cast of characters before the show goes on and Stone’s real identity is revealed. A Music playlist accompanies each chapter.
Soothe your Wrath is a compilation of poetry, mostly centered around the enigmatic "Raindrop." Travels ranging from Whistler, BC and busting through the vast deserts of the Southwest of the US of A, terminate at the rocky shoreline of Maine’s coast. "The Raindrop" cedes it’s hold beyond matters of liquidation, and the body of work transitions to topics of serendipity or extracts of prose from the Warlock portfolio.
Have you ever swooned over a crush who lives halfway across the world? Maybe thought your newest match on the apps just might be a catfish? Celebrated hot vax summer for a hot second? Or felt yourself falling into…something for a short spell? Then maybe you’ve been in a bottle episode. Bottle Episodes charts a path from obsessive gay crushes, through life-affirming love, soul-crushing first dates, and a series of consuming, short-term love affairs. Redefining the force of romantic narratives through unconventional shapes and frames of time, each episode offers its own particular delight. With equal strokes of playfulness, whimsy, melodrama, and joy, the poems of this collection are as interested in referencing Girls as they are in simping, swooning, and finding a new self both inside–and out–of love.
Deer, Silent And Open-Eyed
Beetle Samuel Rooke-Dutton
The Telling Room
Beetle Samuel Rook-Dutton's debut poetry collection, Deer, Silent and Open Eyed, is both a tender and visceral reflection on natural decomposition and his experiences growing up as a trans guy in southern Maine. Through metaphors relating to fish, insects, fruit, and roadkill, the collection conveys themes of violence, connection, joy, and resilience. Exploring topics ranging from the sharpness of razor clamshells to the look of deer sleeping on the sides of highways in the dark of morning, he captures the essence of humanity through the eye of a boy lying still on a dirt road.
Clearing Out The Fridge
Ruby Van Dyk
The Telling Room
In her debut poetry collection, Ruby Van Dyk dedicates space for introspection, anger, and cravings. Clearing Out The Fridge asks what food means to all of us. Traveling through warm kitchens, malodorous grocery stores, and the mind of a grieving teenage girl, it examines the systems on which we are all reliant. Traversing love of her grandmother, the silliness of a young cousin, and the uncertainty of a world overrun with microplastics and greed, Van Dyk's poetry serves as the base for a greater message.
Holistic Self-Care - Body, Mind, Spirit: A Pastoral Counselor's 50 Life Lessons
What do we need for good self-care? We've all learned we should "eat healthy and exercise," but what about holistic care for our minds and our spirits? The author draws upon 25 years of lessons learned as a licensed pastoral counselor in Maine to offer an expanded view of potential challenges to the body, mind, and spirit, as well as tried-and-true alternative strategies for living our best lives. New ideas for successfully managing anger, body image, anxiety, depression, betrayal, grief, and much more are offered to those of great faith, little faith, lost faith, and even no faith. We all have a belief system about ourselves and how things work, whether it has a "name" or not, so let's dig in and explore new insights and remedies. Your best life is waiting for you. Ready? Set? Jump in!
The Meaning of Love: A Memoir
Johanna S. Billings
Armin Lear Press
By the time she was 25, Johanna S. Billings had already suffered multiple traumas, losing her entire family in the process. Her memoir, The Meaning of Love, tells a story that begins with her parents unable to care for her severely disabled sister. Johanna's parents separate, and her 9-year-old sister is sent to live in a nursing home. Not long after the author’s 15th birthday, her dad is killed by a drunk driver, leaving her alone with her volatile and abusive mother. Just a few years later, Johanna's mother dies by suicide, leaving behind a mess—both literal and figurative. The Meaning of Love centers on Johanna’s trauma and recovery as she explores forgiveness and what it means to find peace. Despite its serious nature, this irresistible memoir is at times quirky and humorous, showcasing the author’s indomitable sense of optimism and her love of art, nature, and romance.
Uncertain Behavior is a memoir navigating grief and mortality. Written in real time and spanning three bedside vigils, Meredith Winn explores the spirit's ability to heal and thrive. From her own hospital room where she learns to walk again, to sitting with her dying mother; she writes to feel less alone and ends up documenting a universal human experience. Life is heartbreaking and hopeful. Is it possible to feel profoundly alive while facing her own cancer diagnosis or grieving the loss of both parents? This paradoxical thinking reads like a short story but feels like an honest conversation with a friend.
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