Lea Wait – Karen Creamer Author, Coach, Speaker

I have read a couple of Lea Wait’s fiction books, so when I saw her latest book was memoir-y, I was so excited ! I am always interested in how other writers pull it together, how they structure their lives around their craft.

Lea’s book follows the seasons, and is a series of essays describing daily life at home with her husband, her writing, his painting, and their cats.

What comes through very clearly is her love for all of these things. Her four daughters and her grandchildren are also front in center in her heart and in her book.

There are some stories in the book that echo my own life, and I was happy to be reminded of my own memories about my tea-loving grandmother, walking in the beautiful Mt Auburn Cemetery in Watertown, MA, and adopting a kitten. Like Lea, I have also experienced the gut-wrenching occasion of seeing a completed written piece somehow get deleted from my computer–however, unlike Lea, I no longer have a cat to hold responsible. I only had myself to blame!

That’s the first part. The second part of the book tells us a lot about her writing process. I loved reading about the ‘how to sign a book’ quandary, as she grappled with the same issues I did prior to my first book signing last April for One Brave Thing. She generously shares with us the elements she includes when writing her own (very successful!) books. I will be starting my own character journal immediately!

But the best thing I learned from this book is that Lea was 53 when she published her first book…just like me! And she has written many, many books since then.

Hope (her favorite word!), people! It’s a beautiful thing!

This is a fast read that will appeal to anyone who loves Maine and anyone who loves their own family and town, as well as any writers. So buy Living and Writing on the Coast of Maine by Lea Wait and put it up on the shelf next to your copy of On Writing by Stephen King (whom she has met!).

**If you like my reviews, please like my author page on FB: K.M Creamer

I recently read this book, Shadows on the Coast of Maine by Lea Wait. This is another book that came to me by way of my husband, Bill, who knows what I like.

🙂

Shadows is immediately interesting and absorbing. I got it on audiobook because I was planning to do some driving and like to read while I do. 🙂

I was also attracted to this book because Lea Waite is a Maine author and the story is set in Maine, the state I love…so how could I go wrong? It’s about a couple who make the transition to move to Maine, and then try to get their lives on track, but bad things happen to them, so a friend comes to stay to try to help. After that, everything gets worse. That’s all I’m saying (hey, it’s a mystery, people).

Here’s the thing: I used up a lot of miles and gas listening to this book, because I was enjoying it so much that I just kept going and going and going.

Reading Shadows gave me the same feeling that I had as a young girl when I read the Nancy Drew mysteries by Carolyn Keene. What is especially wonderful is that this book is part of a series! Don’t you just want to celebrate when you finish a book you love and discover that there are more like it? This is one of those.

Yay! Read this book!

After you finish it, maybe read my book too! One Brave Thing