"A Year of Surprises"

The Bangor Daily News is out today with a follow-up to the piece it did last January on "12 Mainers to Watch in 2012." It was an eventful year:

Doiron describes his 2012 as “a year of surprises.” His third novel in the Mike Bowditch series, “Bad Little Falls,” was released in August. In the fall, the Kindle edition of his debut, “The Poacher’s Son,” was released in the United Kingdom and reached No. 4 on the best-seller list of all Kindle books in November. “I even beat the ‘50 Shades of Grey’ juggernaut,” he proudly wrote in an email. Doiron also signed a new two-book deal. On Dec. 19, he finished work on his fourth novel, “Massacre Pond,” which he thinks might be his best. That book will be published in July 2013. And perhaps the biggest surprise: “I learned that the Pete Kilpatrick Band had been inspired by my novel to write a song titled ‘Trespasser,’ for its album ‘Heavy Fire,” Doiron wrote. (John Holyoke, BDN)

With the print publication of The Poacher's Son in the UK looming just a few weeks away, 2013 is shaping up to be another year to remember.

Facebook Is the Place

Happy holidays, everyone.

I've been busy working on the fourth Mike Bowditch novel, Massacre Pond, which means I am behind on answering letters, among other things. In the new year I will be sending out my next newsletter with an update on when you can read my next book, some interesting news from the United Kingdom, and maybe even a sneak peek at a project I have in the works with a talented Maine artist. Sign up at the bottom of my home page or by clicking the Contact menu.

In the meantime I wanted to mention that, if you use Facebook, you should check out my Paul Doiron Books page. I post there whenever I have a random bit of news that comes my way. I also moderate discussions about the series. Today's conversation is about which of the secondary characters—Charley, Ora, Kathy, etc—is your favorite. I'd be curious to hear who you'd like to read more about in future books, too.

I always appreciate hearing from you—via Facebook, comments to my blog posts, or via email. And I promise to answer you!

How to Survive Falling Through the Ice

When I was a teenager, a friend and I decided to cross the frozen Scarborough Marsh one winter's day. It had been very cold, and everything was covered in snow. The Spurwink River is backish and tidal so you could see where the rising and falling water had caused ridges to form and collapse—but the ice looked safe enough.

It wasn't. My friend went through about fifteen feet from me. We knew a neighbor family whose young son had died falling through the ice. This looked to be a very bad situation.

And then, suddenly, my friend stood up. Half of his body was submerged, but his feet were on compacted mud. We were lucky it was low tide.

Not everyone who falls through the ice is so fortunate, as I discuss at Maine Crime Writers today.

Surfacing

I've been quiet on the blogging front because I've been working hard on my fourth Mike Bowditch novel, Massacre Pond. Now that I am nearing the end, it feels like I am rising from the depths after having been submerged a long time. I describe the unreality of this experience at Maine Crime Writers today.

In other news, Edgar winner and Associated Press book critic Bruce DeSilva very kindly named Bad Little Falls to his list of the Best Crime Novels of 2012. To say that I am honored and grateful doesn't really do justice to the emotions I am feeling to be included with such great books.

Great Review in the Boston Globe!

Thank you, Hallie Ephron!

Paul Doiron made a big splash with his Edgar Award-nominated first novel, “The Poacher’s Son,” which introduced Maine game warden Mike Bowditch and his extraordinary talent for tracking animals and people through the worst weather that Maine can dish up. When he’s reassigned to the eponymous “Bad Little Falls,” a remote town near the Canadian border where drug abuse, unemployment, poverty, violence, and poaching are rampant, his reputation for disregarding orders precedes him and it looks as if his career has dead-ended. To him, it’s the equivalent of “being exiled to Siberia.”

The story has a strong sense of place and makes palpable the raw power that weather and water can wield. The plot is driven by the elusive possibility that this time Bowditch can redeem his career while saving Jamie and her son. Shelve this book beside the works of Steve Hamilton and William Kent Kruger, stories of strong but not macho men living in godforsaken places, bruised by past relationships, and trying to get it right this time.