NORWAY — Oxford Hills native Jennifer Wixson has released “Peas, Beans & Corn,” the second book in her fictional Sovereign Series, featuring the romantic and heartwarming goings-on in a small Maine town. The book will be available June 29.

The series is a four-volume work by Wixson, a farmer, author and itinerant Quaker minister who now writes from her home in Troy, Maine. Books three and four will be published in 2014 and 2015. The novels are set in the mythical town of Sovereign, Maine, population 1,048, a rural farming community where “the killing frost comes just in time to quench all budding attempts at small-mindedness and mean-spiritedness.”

Wixson and her husband raise Scottish Highland cattle. She was educated at the School of Hard Knocks and also admits to a master’s degree in divinity from Bangor Theological Seminary.

In the Sovereign Series, good-hearted and lovable characters weave in and out of the four books like beloved friends dropping in for a cup of tea. Visitors to Sovereign enjoy the felicity that abounds in this peaceful, picturesque hamlet of rolling pastures and woodlots, whether sharing a picnic with a group of friends at the Millett Rock or wandering with a lover beside Black Brook.

Book two of the series, titled “Peas, Beans & Corn,” tells of the romance of a bygone era. Maine Army Guardsman Bruce Gilpin, 35, returns to Sovereign with the secret dream of restarting the town’s old sweet corn canning factory. He’s encouraged in his mission by the passionate, young organic foodie Amber Johnson, 21, who reawakens his youthful heart.

The course of their true love becomes muddied by their well-meaning mothers and by the arrival of Bruce’s ex-wife, Shelia, and the handsome corporate attorney Ryan MacDonald who comes to town to rusticate.

Wixson is taking part in two book readings and discussions with retired Professor Paul Frederic, an expert on the corn canning industry in Maine. Their discussion on the sweet corn era (1860-1960) will be held from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, June 29, at the Norway Memorial Library, and from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, at the Farmington Public Library.

Visit an independent book store in Maine, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords to purchase Wixson’s books. Autographed copies are available for purchase at www.theSovereignSeries.com.

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