Maine summer is filled with fun things to do, both on weekends and weekdays. First among many are festivals. It is time to go out and have a good time with friends and family while eating food and enjoying events unique to each festival. Here's our list of ten festivals to visit, and check out the links in the titles for more information.

​10. Common Ground Country Fair - Unity - September 21-23
It's not your typical fair. It is a world of sustainability, environmentally-sound living products with organic agricultural demonstrations, arts & crafts, nonprofit that better our world and lots of livestock enjoy and experience.

 Author Q&A

​JWB: Tell us a little about Awk?
 
Vance: Okay. Awk the Awkward Penguin is a story about being different — that is something I think nearly every kid feels at some point. Little Awk is born with flippers that are too darn long and they hamper his swimming (very important for a penguin) as well as causing him to trip as he waddles along in his penguin world. His community notes his clumsy nature and dubs him: Awk the Awkward Penguin. Awk tries to deal with his awkwardness despite some criticism and bullying. He has a good friend and that helps but eventually he begins to wonder just how he is supposed to fit in. 

​His adventures begin as he gets separated from his penguin colony and meets some friends along his journey. They help him to see that different isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes different can be wonderful. Awk discovers great benefits to his extra-long flippers and returns home to save the day, finding his place in the world at last.

JWB: What are some of the themes that you return to regularly in your writing?
 
​Vance: I love the Redemption theme, but many of my stories are about honor, sacrifice and doing the right thing. Classic heroism. I believe these themes, although a bit out of vogue, still echo as good and true in most of us.

JWB: What are three of your favorite children’s books to read to children?
 
Vance: Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss, Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak and The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg.

JWB:  Any advice for young authors?
 
Vance: Yes. Go out there and live a lot. Have experiences, take risks. Learn first-hand about all the things you are interested in. Pay attention to your inner growth. Hold on to your awe and amazement as you get older and really think about the people in your life. Try to understand them and know them as you do yourself. Write about what you know but dig deep into your experiences and feelings and write about what matters to you. Make interesting well-constructed stories with amazing characters and plot twists but put in themes underlying all that that will create pathos in your readers. To do that, the themes have to move you as you write them. That’s all there is to it.

​​JWB:  What is the most difficult part of putting together a children’s book?
 
Vance: Like with any story, the ending. Character development, story construction, pacing - It’s all relatively easy in a children’s book. Bringing all the storylines together at the end so that you have a neat tidy package with a solid moral, that’s a trick.

​​JWB:  Why penguins?
 
Vance: I like penguins, they’re funny. People like them. They stand up on two feet, like us. They congregate together, like us. They are easy for kids to relate to, I think. Plus, they are fun to draw.

JWB:  What do you hope that children take away from the story?
 
Vance: That’s easy. This was my whole reason for writing “Awk”. Different isn’t a bad thing. Different is good. In fact, different can be a marvelous and beautiful thing. There’s a lot of intolerance in our world – about skin color, religion, cultural differences, sexual affinity and gender, appearance, and even physical and mental challenges. I hope to reach children at a young age with the idea that differences of all kinds are not scary or somehow ‘wrong’. Everyone is different, in some way, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It can be a source of curiosity and wonder if not looked at with distrust or preconceived ideas. That is my message and when I read my book to grade schoolers, they all get it easily.

​
​JWB: What are you currently working on?
 
Vance: I am putting together an Anthology of short stories written by the students in my Advanced Storytelling Class. These are all written within the genres of: fantasy, science fiction and mild horror and all have their roots in Maine. I am very impressed with the caliber of work done in this class for this project and look forward to getting this book published. I am also submitting a short story of my own within this collection and all stories will be fully illustrated.

Ever since we figured out how to launch fireworks, Americans have loved celebrating our freedom from the British Empire with massive displays. But fireworks aren’t all the celebratory events going on in Maine. Here are ten events --- both explosive and not --- going on in Maine this year. Links to the sites are in red and blue.

​1. Celebration in Bar Harbor: At six in the morning, the Fourth of July Celebration in Bar Harbor starts with a blueberry pancake breakfast and ends with the fireworks display. The entire day is filled with events. For the full list, click here.

​Just Write books is not accepting new manuscripts. We are working on several projects and are unable to even look at new ones until June 2019. However, once June 2019 arrives below are guidelines to use when preparing your book for publication. 

Just Write Books does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. Call, write or email to tell us about your book. Begin a conversation before sending anything.

Publisher Nancy E. Randolph will want to speak with the author to learn about the book, the author and why this book should be published. Only a very few manuscripts evolve into a book with Just Write Books.

Just Write Books does not return manuscripts. We carefully shred them.

• Don't send us your only copy. If your manuscript is rejected for publication, it will be shredded. The cost of returning the manuscript far outweighs the cost of reprinting.
• No reading fee but a donation. Just Write Books asks that you donate to save our swinging bridge.com/donate when sending us a manuscript to review. Upon being invited to submit your manuscript, please send a copy of your check or online receipt (to the nonprofit) with your manuscript. $25 for 1- to 99-page manuscript. $50 for a manuscript of 100-200 pages and $100 for 201-400. *If your manuscript is longer than 400 pages, it is highly unlikely that Just Write Books will publish your book.
• Before printing your manuscript, complete a thorough edit. It will survive another round or two of edits at Just Write Books. Please read it aloud and spell check. Both things might prevent your manuscript from going through the shredder.
• Your manuscript must be a computer-generated printout. No handwritten submissions. Use clean, white 8 ½ by 11-inch unlined paper of average thickness. No designer paper. Use an easy to read font such as Times New Roman. Please do not use different typefaces or sizes. Don't try to make it look "good." You'll only irritate the reader. Our preferred font size is 12 points. Left justify the print. Do not right justify, center or fill the line to force a right flush. Do not format or insert photos. Print just the text please. Use a one-inch margin: top, bottom, right and left. Indent each paragraph by .3 or .5 inch. Do not leave a blank line between paragraphs. 
• Double space the entire document. 
• Create a running head with the title of the book and your name. 
• Place page numbers centered at the bottom of each page. Ensure that the document is set to automatic numbering.  If you do not know how to do this; ask a friend or a friendly computer geek for help.
• Do not 3-hole punch, staple or otherwise bind your manuscript. We might take only 20 pages to read away from our desk.
• Provide a list of photographs or illustrations and include a couple of printed samples of the same (photocopies will do).
• Check every page for clear printing and that each page printed.

If you have followed the above suggestions, our reader will be able to read your file, make comments, edits and suggestions without straining her eyes or developing a migraine headache. In addition, when it is time to make your manuscript into a book, it will be in the right format for flowing into desktop publishing software.
 
Two more things before mailing your manuscript:

• Do not include a cover letter. (By this time, we've already told you to mail a copy.) This will allow you to mail the manuscript via Media Mail through the US Postal Service. (If you want to send a cover letter; mail it separately in a first-class envelope or email anything you want to tell us. Remember: do not email the manuscript.
• Double check everything before mailing, including our mailing address.

Just Write Books, 14 Munroe Lane, Topsham, ME 04086. Seal and drop in the mailbox.
If you haven't heard from us in two months; send a postcard, email or simple letter. That's polite and non-irritating. 

I hope this helps clarify things for the authors.

Happy writing!

​Summer is here again, and that means it’s time for day trips to the beach and thunderstorms in the afternoon. No matter the weather or the place, a book is the perfect thing to bring to have a good time anywhere. Check out the updated list of books from Just Write Books to bring with you wherever you go.

“Grandma shared with me her age-old knowledge in my quest to learn more about the useful wild plants that grow all around us.” Tom Seymour
 
Just Write Books announces the release of the third edition of Wild Plants of Maine by Tom Seymour. Wild plants, mushrooms, and new recipes have been added to the information already present in the pages, making a more complete guide to identifying, harvesting and using or eating wild plants. The book contains 80 wild plants, some found on hiking trails, some found in garden plots and backyards. Many are edible, with recipes that detail cooking methods to make them safe and enhance flavor.
 
From teas to medicines, any person wandering the Maine wilderness would benefit from having this book with them. Reading it beforehand and knowing how to identify and even taking the book with you, can result in a good and safe harvest for wilds and a delicious Maine dinner afterwards.
 
The information contained in the book is highlighted by anecdotes by the author, as with the “warning” of the death trumpet mushroom from Seymour’s grandmother, or the note that Joe-Pye Weed is a “precursor to fall.” These quips bring the plants to life on the page as much as they are in the woods.
 
Tom Seymour has been writing professionally since 1973, for local newspapers. He has since published multiple volumes on Maine: its natural bounties, outdoor pursuits, living in Maine and enjoying all the state has to offer. 

(Topsham, Maine)  Shauna Holland of Durham, Maine, has joined the publishing company Just Write Books for the summer as an intern. Holland is a Creative Writing Major at the University of Maine, Farmington, and is set to receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in the spring of 2020. Currently, she plans to get literary works published and eventually working as a full-time author. In the short term, she wants to find a job as an editor for a publishing company, gaining the experience needed by working with Nancy E. Randolph publisher at Just Write Books.
 
“So far, there isn’t a part of this job that I don’t like—even if it’s only been a few days. I had a feeling that this sort of thing is my calling,” enthused Holland. Holland will spend her days at the small publishing house assisting Randolph in tasks such as social media copywriting and posting, minor proofing, light editing and a myriad of everyday administrative jobs to help Just Write Books further its marketing efforts over the summer according to Randolph.
 
Just Write Books publishes: a few books each year, several websites and social media posts for authors, business owners and others. Using a collaborative process to publish tweets, blogs and books, Just Write Books helps authors/clients, or the author of any publication achieve his/her goals. 

The Attic & Me by Norma K. Salway
A passion for attics and anything old cultivated a love of collecting family artifacts in Norma Salway. She tells inspirational stories connecting to her roots and experiences that reveal who she is today. Readers will enjoy hearing of joys of collecting, agonies of trials, fears, and interactions with creatures on a farm.

Nancy E. Randolph operates Just Write Books, publishing Maine books by Maine authors telling Maine stories. Randolph quickly developed a reputation as a publisher of quality Maine books. An active community member along with two others she founded and serves as a member of the board of Save Our Swinging Bridge.Org to ensure the maintenance of the historic Roebling designed and built bridge connecting Topsham and Brunswick. ​​