Carla "fired up" about Maine

We're just back from a few days in Boston, "our" city, but my mind is on the coast of Maine -- way "down east," above Bar Harbor, in places like Schoodic, Corea, Milbridge, the Bold Coast. It's the land of wild blueberries, lobster boats, rocky coastline and quiet coves. The Maine coast is often a part of my books. ON FIRE, for one. My publisher has reissued it with a fabulous new cover. Marine biologist Riley St. Joe finds a dead body -- and an FBI agent -- on a small, uninhabited Maine island.

There are over 3000 islands off the Maine coast. Hard to believe, isn't it? Many are uninhabited, and just over a dozen are inhabited year-round, including the stunning Mt. Desert Island, home to Acadia National Park,

where we've spent many happy hours hiking. If you're going, be sure to stop at Jordan Pond for popovers and tea!

According to the Maine Coast Guide, "There are more islands in the Maine archipelago than in the Caribbean, more than in Polynesia or on the Dalmatian Coast."

That's a lot of islands. The island in ON FIRE is pure fiction, of course, and I've never found a dead body in real life anywhere, much less kayaking in Maine. For me, Maine is one of the places I go to in my mind when I'm stressed and just need a mental break -- e.g., when things get a lot bumpy on a flight across the Atlantic! A lit

tle bumpy doesn't faze me but a lot bumpy...I close my eyes, and I'm kayaking in Maine, or I'm sitting on a boulder watching lobster boats in Narraguagus Bay and reading a good book, or I'm perched on a hilltop with a breathtaking view of a classic Maine lighthouse.

I'm going through my Maine photos and putting them up on my photo blog all month -- it's my way of celebrating ON FIRE's return to print. Stop by if you get a chance, and if you have your own "happy place," I hope you'll share it with us...or just take a moment and go there now. :-)

Have a great day, everyone,

Carla