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Welcome to the Late-January edition of MWPA's Ex Libris Maine.
This edition offers new books by Maine authors in the categories of Fiction, Crime Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young Adult or Young Readers.
For more information on any title below, simply click on the book's cover.
It is a universal enough truth that human beings are social by nature. There is space within us which normally fills up with relationships and rich experiences. When we are rendered solitary by circumstance or temperament, however, that space fills instead with the symptoms of loneliness. Angel Dionne’s dry, observant short stories pull back the lid of that claustrophobic way of life, giving us a vantage on the minor existential pains of people talking most often to themselves. In this the author’s first collection, readers will find twelve tinned tales of a world both familiar and disquietingly austere. For all of her economy of expression, Dionne’s investigations into the scenes — hair salon, butcher’s, library, zoo, café — and occurrences of everyday life — a read-through of the paper, a conversation at the cash-out, an inquiry into the open job —are meticulously observed.
Fleeing her as-far-from-juicy-as-you-can-get life, Sally Kiernan buys an abandoned church in Falls Harbor, midcoast Maine. Not exactly astellar match for Sally, who hasn’t been to church since her mom died. After rescuing her from a blizzard, villagers plead with Sally to open a bakery in the church. Since this would seriously mess with her plan to become a hermit, Sally falters—until realization hits that quirky villagers are desperate for a reason to rise in the morning—and so is she. They open the Bless You Bakery, but villagers confess that Falls Harbor is failing since its largest employer suddenly packed up and left, and it’ll take much more than a bakery to yank it back from the brink. Against all hope, Sally and a ragtag team of villagers join forces in a mission-impossible attempt to transform the church into a magical, destination restaurant to save Falls Harbor.
Put on your springtime best and grab a basket, because Easter egg hunting is to dye for in this delightful new collection of Easter-themed capers set in coastal Maine and featuring fan-favorite sleuths from the long-running, bestselling cozy mystery series by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, and Barbara Ross!
Alien Encounters: The Seed Planet Initiative Book Two
Tensions explode as Alien Encounters continues the story of Michael, Una, Lizzie, Silvio, and Evan. It’s The Sopranos meets Black Mirror and Gulliver’s Travels in this human tale of relationships, darkness, desire, and trauma. A fast paced thriller, Alien Encounters is the second book in The Seed Planet Initiative, following the story of Michael Forbes as he navigates the intricacies of intimacy, temptation, and loyalty, trying to be helpful in a world dominated by mafioso moves, alien AI, beauty, and attraction. (Mature content warning).
Harraseeket: Stories from Freeport's History
Polly Dyer Brann
Illustrated by Robert A. Wieferich
Pink Eraser Press
Harraseeket: Stories from Freeport’s History is a collection of short stories of regular and famous men and women, iconic places, and every day and significant events. From the Abenaki people who lived in Maine pre1600 and in current times, to famous resident Joan Benoit Samuelson; from the 1700’s Pote house, the oldest house in Freeport, to Derosier’s Market, the oldest business in town; and from the adventures of The Dash, our 1812 privateer, to the renewal of The Desert of Maine, readers will learn how good ideas, courage, risk-taking, perseverance and hard work have made history. Harraseeket: Stories from Freeport’s History fills a void in local non-fiction and provides brief snippets of Freeport’s heritage for middle readers and adults.
Bjarki, Not Bjarki: On Floorboards, Love and Irreconcilable Differences
As Matthew Clark—a carpenter by trade—begins researching a magazine-style essay about Bjarki Thor Gunnarsson and his American Dream Boards, he comes to discover that nothing is quite as it seems. Santa Claus arrives by helicopter. A wedding diamond disappears. A dead coyote jumps to its feet. And then, at a Thai restaurant in central Maine, Bjarki is transformed into an eggplant. While reporting on the people and processes which transform Maine's forests into your floor, Clark also ruminates on North American colonization, masculinity, the definition of "disgusting," his own uncertain certainty. When the boards beneath our feet are so unstable, always expanding, cupping and contracting, how can we make sense of the world? What does it mean to know another person and to connect with them, especially in an increasingly polarized America?
We are Here and it is Now
Dave Morrison
Soul Finger Press
Hailed as 'A hearty weed in the garden of American poetry' (Dispatch Magazine) Morrison's poems have been published in literary magazines and anthologies, and featured on Writer’s Almanac, Take Heart, and Poems from Here. Morrison has published nineteen books of poetry including a collection about rock & roll bars in verse and meter, Clubland (Fighting Cock Press 2011), and Cancer Poems (JukeBooks 2015). We Are Here and it is Now is his most recent collection.
In Dante's Inferno, he descends into Hell and explores circles reserved for traitors & betrayers, liars & thieves. Lynne Schmidt's blistering new poetry chapbook wrestles with the terrifying notion that we are currently in Hell, and that the things we suffer on a daily basis — Violence Against Women, Body Image, Animal and Child Abuse, Death, Dying, and Grief — are a part of some larger punishment.
Listen to the Trees is a collection of haiku and monotypes created in an attempt to understand the emotions and turmoil of navigating loss and grief. The limited format of haiku and the limited palette used in depicting birch trees compose a balance while acknowledging the natural beauty and symbolism of the birch as a survivor and as a metaphor for life and journey.
Allie, a young girl, and her talking cat, Ples, inhabit Widmark Castle, a realm threatened by the encroaching void called Nothingwhere. To make matters worse, this castle is also plagued by Night Walkers, mysterious creatures linked to the Nothingwhere. When Allie discovers her missing parents might be trapped, she embarks on a quest. Armed with her father's magical inventions, and accompanied by loyal companions like Ples and Karlton, the head of maintenance, she faces internal doubts, travels through different worlds via paintings, battles Night Walkers, and strives to restore balance to their world.
SUBMISSIONS If you are a current Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance member, and you would like to announce your new book in ExLibris Maine, click HERE. If you are not a member, click HERE to learn more about our member benefits.
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