These last couple of weeks have been a real full circle moment for me. I started this blog in the fall of 2023 as part of my sabbatical project, which was dedicated to doing research and traveling to lay the groundwork for a book on literary geography and King’s Maine. I traveled to Maine in October of that same year, exploring a range of locations around Maine, including Durham, Bridgton, and Bangor, all of which provided tremendous inspiration for my book-to-be. 

Now, almost three years later, the finish line is in sight, with my manuscript heading to the editor at the end of this month. Three years of maps and movies and games, three years of recipes went exactly as planned and recipes that didn’t go so well, and three years of one King book after another. Three years of research and notes, writing and revising, getting stuck and pushing through (with lots of encouragement and support when I needed it most. Thanks, Jason!).

And in this home stretch, I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to go back to Maine, to return to some of those places I saw in 2023 and to discover new ones. I enjoyed some more time with SK Tours, getting a new view of Derry. I returned to the Standpipe, Mt. Hope Cemetery, and the Bangor Public Library, and I had dinner on my birthday at Oriental Jade (the inspiration for the Losers’ reunion at Derry’s Jade of the Orient in King’s IT [1986]). I drank more Moxie this time around and I tried Needhams and whoopie pies, which I somehow missed in 2023. 

Last time I was in Maine, I reread IT, immersing myself in King’s Derry. This time around, my re-read was Under the Dome (2009). (I’m not sure why I chose two of King’s biggest books as travel buddies, but there you have it.)  Under the Dome is set in Chester’s Mill rather than Derry, and called to mind some of my Bridgton adventures, even as I was walking around Bangor. Despite this dislocation, the theme of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances rings true, a hallmark and throughline of all of King’s fiction. And of course, memorable characters are always at the heart of King’s work: good people, bad people, good people who make bad choices, flawed people who become heroes, and everything in between. In all of these real world places—Bangor, Bridgton, or our own backyards—every single person has a story, most of which we’ll never know, and all of which are profoundly shaped by the places they inhabit. 

Over the next few weeks, I’ll share some of these new Maine adventures, along with reflections on the final manuscript preparation. It has been a long and winding road, with plenty of bumps along the way, but well worth the effort. Thank you for sharing some of this journey with me!