Can a blog turn in to a book? Sure! Michelle Souliere has written a fantastic little book, Strange Maine, drawing largely on her blog http://strangemaine.blogspot.com/
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The book is a small treasure chest!
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Joyful Writing
Souliere's humor is sprinkled generously throughout the book. Her introduction assures readers that her book should not -- ever -- never ever! -- be used for trespassing. This peaks the readers interest at once. Where am I not supposed to go?
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Souliere offers energetic prose and a refreshing attention to details. Her writing style is chatty, like she's talking to a good friend about a beloved subject. You can sense her passion as she shares these strange stories about her home state.
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Souliere does a good job documenting her sources. Personally, I get tired of chasing end notes and footnotes. And I get very annoyed at the author who could just care less. Souliere discloses her sources right in the text of the book itself. So, as you read, she explains where she found an item, and then moves forward with her quote or retelling.
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Content
Souliere wastes no time taking the reader straight into the heart of strange Maine. Or, more appropriately, spooky Maine. She gives a haunting tour of several graveyards, including first hand testimony from someone who was literally chased out of the cemetery by a very angry spirit. I'm not going to recreate the scene, but it was wonderful and that freaky story alone would have kept me up late bug eyed.
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She also tells a pretty scary story about a ghost caught in a "loop" wandering from his living room to his sauna. Again, I was spooked.
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Souliere dives into the strange history of Maine. This includes a chapter on crime (let's just say Lizzy Borden had a few country bumpkin rivals up in Maine). She gives a wonderful chapter on monsters and other odd creatures. My wife was impressed by Dr. Doves Unicorn, "cracked me up," she laughed.
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With so many monsters ghosts and creatures roaming the borders of Maine, at least part of the always annoying question "where do you get your ideas, Mr. King" might be answered here. Of course, I've always said, Who cares where King gets his ideas, just so long as he writes them down. But I must admit a certain pleasure in thinking at certain points, "Ah, I wonder if that might have inspired Stephen King!" After a serious description of a place called "Hubcap heaven" I found myself thinking that maybe some of these people King describes in his novels aren't really so far fetched. By the way, she included directions to Hubcap Heaven, if you're interested.
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Photo's
This might sound childish, but I like books with pictures. There, I said it. I worked my way toward pictures when I read the updated version of the stand. Throughout this book Souliere offers unique photographs that both work with her text and stand alone. They are well captioned, allowing punks like me to read ahead and anticipate upcoming stories.
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Strange Maine and Stephen King
If you're remotely interested in the world of Stephen King then you will be interested in the State of Maine. And Strange Maine is a great guide for those of us who can't jump in a car and explore the wonderful state. Souliere points out that Maine is known for its eccentrics. . . Like Stephen (p.18)
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Things that don't make sense to a Californian suddenly spring to life as Souliere explains the raw details of Maine. I had trouble with Salem's Lot partly because it was so hard for me to believe a town in America could really be that far off the beaten path. However, Souliere notes "Maine contains over 400 unorganized townships." (p.17) Suddenly Salem's Lot registered as much more interesting in my book.
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And where did the green glow in Tommyknockers come from? Well, Souliere has a suggestion. Of course, you must remember, to Souliere the interest is never in if something really inspired King or not, she is chasing the story itself. But this is worth a nod, okay! Interested? Check out page 34.
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While the book is not directly about Stephen King, it is a great resource full of insights for anyone who wants to dig just one layer deeper. My wife wants to make sure I tell everyone that it's a "fun" book. So there.
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