Hello friends!

Now, that we've gotten through the fall flurry surrounding the release of the movie, I'm putting more focus on the book and its audience this winter.

To any bookstore or library who would like to have a community virtual gathering around the discussion of The Ghost Trap, I'm happy to host a free Zoom chat this winter and spring. I just did a Zoom chat with the Maine 2020 Reading Connection book club and it was a fun, entertaining evening . Here's what they had to say:

"You wowed our  mighty band of readers. You now hold the record for captivating us for the longest Zoom meeting—-we went the full 90 minutes! Everyone was moved by The Ghost Trap. And we all learned something that Monday night. You achieved your goal! The story of Jamie, Anja, and Happy will stay with us. Thank you, K, for joining us."

Topics for discussion:

• How a backlist Maine book turned into an award-winning feature film now streaming nationally.
  
• How Maine lobstermen (who almost never appear in or are part of Hollywood movies) sacrificed lucrative days on the water to donate their boats, wharves, co-ops, even clothes to getting this story as accurate as possible. That effort was noticed by Dennis Perkins of Portland Press Herald in his review, "'The Ghost Trap' achieves the rare feat of getting Maine right on film."
  
• Tips for aspiring authors and filmmakers on what went right and wrong to get a book made into a film.
  

Depending on the time/date, there is a possibility of getting some of the actors, producers, and lobstermen on the Zoom chat as well, giving you the full rounded picture.

Contact me at [email protected] and we can set something up!

Two whirlwind summers in a row--2022 and 2023--and I'm ready for a little down time. The film is still in a holding pattern as we apply to film festivals. We do have other news that I can't release publicly yet, but we are making progress. So I got in the car and took a drive, not knowing where I'd end up.

I ended up down in Bristol, first at Shaw's Wharf, which is closed for the season.

How to describe the smell of a fish wharf in Maine:

It's like your cat's breath, off and disturbing, but you crave it. It's the decaying smell of shellfish with an underbloom of salt and a hearty blast of fresh sea air. Like something dying, but you want to drink up its gasping last breath. This is a scent familiar to people who've lived with trauma; it's off putting to those who haven't.

I kept going until I got to Pemaquid Point, which was delightfully uncrowded on a Thursday afternoon.

The lighthouse of course is what people come to see, but I like all of the furrowed ledges of metamorphic gray rocks running down to the sea.

Sometimes when you don't feel like doing anything, the best thing to do is to get in the car and drag yourself to some place beautiful.

And take a rest.

Photos ©Kay Stephens