News
On Wednesday, August 31 at noon, I will be the guest speaker at the Portland Public Library, as part of its Brown Bag Lunch series. I'll read a little from Trespasser, take questions, and sign copies of both my novels, courtesy of Longfellow Books. The library always puts on a great event. Last year's reading was packed, so come early if you want a seat.
Hurricane Irene put a damper on the planned reading I was scheduled to give with best-selling author C.J. Box in Blue Hill tomorrow night (his flight was cancelled). But Box and I will be back. The event has been rescheduled for Thursday, September 29 at 7 p.m. at the Blue Hill Public Library.
If you're looking for a break from the wall-to-wall Irene coverage (and still have access to the Internet or at least a soggy newspaper), there's an interview with me this morning in the Maine Sunday Telegram. The piece is in advance of my free lecture at the Portland Public Library on Wednesday, August 31 at noon. The conversation is a bit of a ramble, as so many of these phone interviews tend to be (I've written my fair share), but one section makes a point I always try to emphasize:
It's a misconception that a game warden's job is all about animals; it's about people, managing people's behaviors. There are poachers and ATV infractions and people falling through the ice.
Maine game wardens are tops in search and rescue, and they are brought in to help in lots of searches. Almost all the most notorious crimes in Maine, at some point, the game wardens are brought in to help.
Here's what I meant by that: The hurricane hasn't started in midcoast Maine yet, but I am aware of the wardens I know gearing up for a long day and night, unsure of what the storm might demand of them, but prepared to help people in danger. I am in awe of their dedication.
In the same edition there's also a review of my friend Vicki Doudera's new mystery Killer Listing. I agree with Lloyd Ferris's description of Darby Farr as "gusty and charming," and am glad he emphasizes Vicki's fantastic sense of humor, which is very much on display here.
This event has been postponed until September 29.
And I have the good fortune of reading with him. Chuck and I share the same literary agent, and I know that getting her two "game warden authors" together has been a pet project for a while. Well, she has finally pulled it off with a reading at the Blue Hill Library. Here's the listing from the Bangor Daily News:
BLUE HILL, Maine — Paul Doiron, author of the Mike Bowditch series of crime novels, and C. J. Box, the New York Times bestselling author of thirteen novels including the Joe Pickett series, will read from their new books at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30, at the Blue Hill Public Library. Paul Doiron will read from his latest book, Trespasser, and C. J. Box will read from Back of Beyond. Both authors work feature a fictional game warden as their primary character.
Paul Doiron is the editor in chief of Down East: The Magazine of Maine, Down East Books, and DownEast.com. His first book in the Mike Bowditch series of crime novels, The Poacher’s Son, was nominated for an Edgar Award, an Anthony Award, a Barry Award, a Strand Critics Award, and a Thriller Award for Best First Novel. A native Mainer, he is a Registered Maine Guide specializing in fly fishing and outdoor recreation and lives on a trout stream in coastal Maine.
This event is co-sponsored by the Blue Hill Public Library and Blue Hill Books. Books will be available for sale and signing. For more information, call 374-5515.
Edgar Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author C.J. Box is one of the most acclaimed writers in the crime and suspense genres right now, and his work has been an inspiration for me in the creation of my own Mike Bowditch series. I am delighted to be his opening act. Welcome to Maine, Chuck!
I don't write many posts on the nuts and bolts of publishing. I used to do a lot of that work in my former life as the executive director of Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance (so long ago). And these days there's so much good advice on the Internet from professionals who know a lot more than I ever will. For instance, I stumbled on agent Rachelle Gardiner's blog the other day and, despite my best intentions, spent a fair amount of time reading her bracingly candid posts on all sorts of difficult subjects. I'd caution against trusting too much on any Internet source (when in doubt, I always ask my own agent), but the truth is there are now lots of reputable agents and other marketing professionals who are candidly writing and commenting online on this bizarre business of ours.
