HALLOWELL — Author Paul Betit of Brunswick will discuss his new book “Let Me Tell A Story” at 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6, at the Harlow Gallery, 160 Water St.
The book’s a departure from the military crime fiction novels Betit has previously written. A mix of short fiction and memoir, it’s a collection of first-person stories that take place over a 60-year period.
The book starts with a tale about a 12-year-old boy who learns some important life lessons during a family trip to Aroostook County. It ends with a piece about an elderly Brunswick couple learning some lessons of their own while coming to grips with old age. Half of the 10 stories in the book take place in Maine. A lot of the stories were inspired by Betit’s experiences during the Vietnam War and its aftermath.
“I like to call them woulda-coulda-shoulda stories,” he said. “All of them contain at least one grain of truth. More often than not it’s much more than just that.”
During book talks promoting his earlier works, Betit read early versions of some of these pieces at events.
“It was a good change of pace and the stories were well-received,” he said.
Betit is the author of “Phu Bai,” “Kagnew Station” and “The Man In The Canal,” crime novels set in South Vietnam, Ethiopia and Sweden, respectively, in the late 1960s and early ’70s. The series follows the adventures of U.S. Army CID investigator John Murphy.
An Augusta native, Betit has worked as a general assignment newspaper reporter or sportswriter for over 40 years, including stints at the Kennebec Journal in Augusta and the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. In 1991 and 1998, he received awards from the Maine Press Association for sports feature writing. He still covers high school, college and professional sports as a freelancer.
Inscribed copies of all four of Betit’s books will be available before and after the talk.
There will be time for a Q&A after, and light refreshments will be served.
The event is open to the public. The cost is a suggested $3 donation to support the gallery’s programming.
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