TURNER – Janet J. Enos, a Lisbon High School graduate, recently had a mystery/romance/suspense novel titled “Victor’s, A Matter of Choice or Death” published.

“I started writing the book two weeks after having a dream about its events. As a writer, I quickly found how vague dreams can be and was in need of filling in huge gaps. One thing led to another and soon this novel was born,” Enos said.

“Like raising children,” she added, “this novel went through many growing stages before its completion, which I believe has been over two years now.”

In “Victor’s,” Jennifer receives a call informing her of the tragic deaths of her friends and finds herself a parent to their three young children. She flies to Italy and tries to console the children while making funeral arrangements. After the funeral, they walk to the car only to be confronted by men presuming to give their condolences. Once within arms reach, they are kidnapped and whisked away to some old abandoned buildings.

While there, arguments arise and a man is shot. Jennifer is then instructed to fly only the children to America and to return immediately. Jennifer does as instructed to protect the children and is confined as a prisoner.

Her captor, Victor, who is a multimillionaire, wants something she possesses but she has no clue what it is. As time passes, Victor begins to fall in love with Jennifer, which complicates his plan.

“Victor’s, A Matter of Choice or Death” is available online at www.amazon.com and at bookstores.

While raising three children of her own, Enos attended and graduated from a community college outside of the area. Today, her children are grown and starting their own careers. Enos now resides with her husband in Turner.

Lewiston man shares story of robin family

LEWISTON – A robin’s arrival led to the creation of a children’s book by Clem Bechard of Lewiston titled “Mrs. Robinson Finds a Home.” The story of how the robin cares for her eggs through to the birth of her three chicks and when they leave the nest is told both with the written word and with color photos.

“I thought it would be a great little story to teach them (children and grandchildren) about life,” said Bechard.

“The educative part of this book teaches children how a nest is built, how similar animals are to humans in their desire to protect and nurture their offspring and, most importantly, phonetics,” wrote Bernice Angoh, editor in chief of Ladies’ Success Magazine.

Himself a grandfather, Bechard was born in Augusta and now resides in Lewiston. He wrote some poetery while in high school and said he has always wanted to write a book. The opportunity finally came along one day, courtesy of a robin that decided to build a nest in front of his kitchen window.

“Mrs. Robinson Finds a Home” can be ordered at www.freewebs.com/cbechard/, at www.PublishAmerica.com and at www.Amazon.com.

Poet writes memoir of life off the grid

For almost 25 years, from 1975 to 1998, poet Baron Wormser lived with his wife and children in a small Cape house in the Maine woods off the power grid, with no electricity or running water. “The Road Washes Out in Spring,” now available from University Press of New England, is Wormser’s contemplative memoir of those years of simple living.

Wormser did not denounce modern technology and escape to the woods. He and his wife simply chose to build their house slightly beyond the point Maine Central Power stopped building poles.

“The Road Washes Out in Spring” is free of lecturing. Rather than trumpeting the virtues of back-to-the-land living, Wormser’s narrative unfolds in a series of untitled, meditative essays. His writing is plain and matter-of-fact.

Wormser is the author of seven volumes of poetry, a poetry chapbook and a book of stories; he also co-authored two books about teaching poetry. He served as poet laureate of Maine from 2000 to 2005 and teaches in the Stonecoast MFA program.

“The Road Washes Out in Spring,” a 208-page paperback ($15.95), is available through University Press of New England, www.UPNE.com.

Maine native is hooked on state’s early rugs

Long intrigued with Maine’s rug-hooking history, Maine native Mildred Cole Péladeau was dismayed at sparse efforts to preverve that rich heritage. Her response: “Rug Hooking in Maine: 1838-1940” a book about that period from the inception of rug-making as a craft form in the United States to attempts to turn it into a fine art.

“Rug-hooking is Maine’s premiere handicraft, more prolific even than quilt-making.” Péladeau states in the introduction to her 190-page hardcover book featuring more than 250 color photographs.

“Many believe it originated in this state and tradition suggests that the craft started in Maine or Nova Scotia,” she pointed out.

“Early rugs,” Péladeau continued, “are true examples of folk art, each one individually made, usually by some isolated rural housewife who had no access to pre-designed patterns. She sat in front of the fireplace with a piece of charcoal and let her imagination dictate the character of the rug as she sketched out her deisgn on a piece of linen or a burlap bag.”

While living in Warren, which abuts Waldoboro, Péladeau became interested in the renowned Waldoboro rugs and was asked to oversee an exhibit and prepare the catalog for a show at the American Textile History Museum in Lowell, Mass.

She has given lectures on Maine’s handmade rugs and spoke at the American Folk Art Museum in New York City in 2007. She and her husband, Marius, retired director of the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, reside in Readfield.

The $39.95 hardcover was published by Schiffer Publishing of Atglen, Pa., www.schifferbooks.com.