Remembering Lea Wait and Review of Living and Writing on the Coast of Maine by Lea Wait

When I logged onto Facebook yesterday August 9th, 2019 the FIRST post that I read was the following written by Lea Wait's daughter Ali Cia......

"It is with great sadness we let you know of the passing of our mom, Lea Wait today. She is very loved and was surrounded by her daughters, in the comfort of her own home. We will let you know about the details of her celebration of life as soon as we secure them. We ask that you please be respectful of our family’s privacy during this very difficult time, as we grieve the loss of our mother. Thank you, to everyone, for the outpouring of support and prayers."

This is NOT something that I was ready to see.  Yes I knew she was ill battling cancer for a while but I still wasn't expected that.....

About a week and a half ago I started reading her Mainely Needlepoint Mystery series (which I will be posting and sharing my reviews with you all in the near future) and I had read her Pizza To Die For book right before that but yesterday I was in the middle of reading Living and Writing on the Coast of Maine which was publsihed in 2015.  In the first half of this book you get to really know Lea, her husband Bob and her life.  And yes she did live a full, busy life !!  She gives you some insight into her life personal and professional (as a writer).  I was feeling very close to Lea while I was reading this book and when I read that she passed, I was hit with a huge empty feeling.  No I have never met her in person and only knew her from being friends on Facebook and following her books but something you should know about me is that authors are celebrities to me.  When you read a book and it takes you away while you are sitting on your couch....when you feel like you know the people in the story and believe that you can walk around the town in the story and not get lost.....and then you get to meet or talk to the mastermind behind those words....IT IS AMAZING !!!  It is especially great when this author writes a series so that you can return to those people and that town on a regular basis.  I am looking foward to finishing the Mainely Needlepoint series and moving on to her Antique Print Mystery series.  Living and Writing on the Coast of Maine will be kept out ( I usually put the books I've read in a box in the attic ) because I have a feeling I will want to re-read this book again.

My thought and prayers go out to Lea's daughters, families, friends and fans.....

Lea.......may you fly high and free.  I know you are painfree and reunited with your love, Bob and that you will look over your girls and families and forever live in so many hearts.  You will NEVER be forgotten.

Below I have posted my thoughts on Living and Writing on the Coast of Maine.......

Living and Writing on the Coast of Maine

What's it like to live your dream? To live the life of an author? To (finally) be married to the man you love and live in the place you've always imagined? With wry humor and insight, Lea Wait, acclaimed author of 14 books in two genres, shares the good, the bad, and the challenging about living in a Maine house built in 1774, meeting publishing deadlines, and loving life. (Most of the time!) 
Lea always wanted to be an author, a mother, a wife ... and to live on the coast of Maine. She adopted her four daughters as a single parent. In 1998, after they were grown, she moved to Maine and began writing full-time. In 2003 she married Bob Thomas, a man she'd only known 12,994 days. 
Her story is a treasure for everyone who knows and love Maine, or writing ... or who dreams.   (Summary via Goodreads)



I am a fan of Lea Wait's Mainely Needlepoint Mystery series so when I saw this book by her I couldn't wait to read it !  Not only are you given a look into her life as a writer but you are given a peek at her personal life.  Sometimes I think readers don't give authors enough thought or credit.  Yeah, we read a book and enjoy it but there is so much more behind the book.....like everything the author put into it.... In Living and Writing on the Coast of Maine Lea provides the reader with short easy funny chapters telling us more about her work history and that she had corporate jobs for 30 years and started writing late.  She also talks about marrying her husband after knowing him for 12,994 days before marrying him !!!  She was a single woman who adopted 4 girls and raised them herself.  She talks about Maine where her books are centered around makes you want to visit and maybe some day move there !!!

I love getting to know authors beyond the fictional books they write.  Like I've said before authors are MY kind of celebrities.  Meeting them, talking with them, even through emails or Facebooks posts, I love it !!  You can have your Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie or whoever else you fancy, I'll "geek" out over Lea Wait and all the other authors......


Review and thoughts by Missi M.