The Pemaquid Press is pleased to announce the plans for its first release. Coming this year is Strange Tales of Mid-coast Maine, a collection of short stories based on life in a Maine that's fading into legend. These offerings, written by The Pemaquid Press's Paul Doering, are rooted in both fact and fantasy.
Here you will find haunting tales woven from the memory of Mainers. They evoke visions of potluck suppers in the church hall, of rainy afternoons in the parlor, of struggles against the sea and of strength in community. They are vivid stories of life, death and destiny in a setting that shapes the values of its people. Natives who remember such times and places, and dreamers who only long for them, will find them in Strange Tales of Mid-coast Maine.
We are in discussion to have the book produced in Newcastle by The Lincoln County Press, publishers of The Lincoln County News. Depending on developments, we expect a late autumn release with mail-orders for Christmas delivery and general availability through northern New England bookstores and gift shops by the start of next year's vacation season. National distribution will follow.
We anticipate releasing Strange Tales of Mid-coast Maine in two formats. The deluxe edition will be an autographed boxed set consisting of the book and an audio CD on which the author reads selected stories aloud. The book itself will be soft-bound and will be available separately.
We invite your inquiry about price and availability as this project moves forward. In keeping with the privacy policy of our parent organization, doer.com, we pledge never to release your contact information to a third party unless required to do so in accord with the law. If you'd like to be on our notification list, please email us at
Our tentative schedule for the book's availability is subject to change. Until we firm it up, it should be a basis for our activities but not for yours.
| Strange Tales of Mid-coast Maine Partial Table of Contents | |
| Painting (Waldoboro et al ) | An artist encounters his destiny |
| Snarkum (Wiscasset) | An elderly seamstress makes a new friend |
| Lobsters (Monhegan) | A lobsterman's daughter challenges his values |
| Widow's Watch (Thomaston) | A tragic fire illuminates a village's mystery |
| Unmarked (Damariscotta, Newcastle) | A spiritualist succeeds beyond her dreams |
| Gifts (New Harbor, Pemaquid Point) | A fifty-year friendship leads to its greatest gift |
| Perpetual Care (Round Pond) | An out-of-towner learns about life at a village meeting |
| Descendants (Damariscotta) | A country auction solves a ghost-ship crew's disappearance |
| Foamy's Rose (Newcastle) | An elegant lady and a struggling florist find common ground |
| The Other Chief (Bristol) | Chief Skidompha emerges from the shadow of Samoset and Massasoit |
If you've already read the About Us page at our doer.com website, you know that Fayne and I are retired and that The Pemaquid Press is a new venture for us. We have a sense of where we want to take the company, but we're still learning the ins and outs of the publishing business. In particular we need experience in distributing and promoting our releases. We decided to begin with something by me in order to avoid putting another author's reputation at risk while we're learning. That's also why we've been declining offered manuscripts. If things go as we hope with Strange Tales of Mid-coast Maine, we'll be ready then to work with other writers.
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Revised April 24, 2003. Please send comments to:
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- Carl Sandburg in Remembrance Rock
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