Questions for Paul Doiron?

[Paul-Doiron]

Paul_Hochman wrote:

Hi Paul,

Paul here. I'm obviously a huge fan of your book and I just wanted drop in to thank you for taking the time to be here.

Have you read Kate Braestrup's Here If You Need Me? Aside from the fact that it covers the Maine Game Warden Service, it's hands down one of the most compelling and moving memoirs I've ever read.

Best,

Paul

Hi Paul:

I should thank you for giving me this fantastic opportunity. I have indeed read Here If You Need Me and agree with you wholeheartedly. I know Kate (she lives in the next town over) and saw her at the game warden Christmas party a few months ago. She's just a wonderful spirit and is one of those people who truly deserves her success.

As you know, I edit a magazine during the day. I remember when Kate's memoir came out. I had just finished the early drafts of The Poacher's Son when I got the galleys. Given my own interest in the subject, I moved heaven and earth to buy serial rights so that we could run an excerpt in Down East. You can imagine how much our readers loved it.

Of course, I now have a personal debt to repay since Kate's done so much to educate readers about the remarkable men and women of the Maine Warden Service. Anyone who's read her book can put Mike Bowditch into context.

Paul

[candidcrafts]

Wait... Sarah isn't Mike's wife?!? I'm halfway through the book and still thought she was! Maybe I wasn't reading as closely as I should have been, but I thought from the start that they were married & now separated. That's an interesting twist

You may not be able to answer this, Paul, but will Sarah be around in Mike's life (and therefore in the books) for the sequels? I'm curious to know if you view Sarah and Mike's separation as a "coming of age" step in these books, or if she will play a major role later on, since she seems to be involved with his family and friends as well.

[Paul-Doiron]

candidcrafts wrote:

Wait... Sarah isn't Mike's wife?!? I'm halfway through the book and still thought she was! Maybe I wasn't reading as closely as I should have been, but I thought from the start that they were married & now separated. That's an interesting twist

You may not be able to answer this, Paul, but will Sarah be around in Mike's life (and therefore in the books) for the sequels? I'm curious to know if you view Sarah and Mike's separation as a "coming of age" step in these books, or if she will play a major role later on, since she seems to be involved with his family and friends as well.

I think I'll hold off answering your question for a few weeks.

[Deltadawn]

Dear Paul,

I would like to add my thanks to you for sharing The Poacher's Son with us here at the First Look Club at B&N and for joining us, as well. 

I am enjoying the book so very much and have difficulty putting it down - It is such a page turner! The characters really come alive on the page. I was wondering where you got your inspiration for them?

I am thrilled to learn that there will be at least 2 more books to the Mike Bowditch series! I think these books will be best sellers!

Dawn

[Paul-Doiron]

Deltadawn wrote:

Dear Paul,

I would like to add my thanks to you for sharing The Poacher's Son with us here at the First Look Club at B&N and for joining us, as well. 

I am enjoying the book so very much and have difficulty putting it down - It is such a page turner! The characters really come alive on the page. I was wondering where you got your inspiration for them?

I am thrilled to learn that there will be at least 2 more books to the Mike Bowditch series! I think these books will be best sellers!

Dawn

Dawn,

That makes two of us who are hoping The Poacher's Son is a bestseller. (Actually, I'm sure there are many people at Minotaur who are praying for strong sales as well, not to mention my literary agent. Lots of bookstores too.)

I was talking about my characters with my wife the other day, and I realized that very few of them are based on actual people I know. This came as a surprise to me. One exception is Mike, who contains more of me—especially the twenty-four year-old me—than I'd care to admit. I'll clue you into the other characters with real-world roots once everyone has finished reading the book.

This is a roundabout way of saying I have no idea where my characters come from, but I have always been a student of human nature, noticing little details about people that others seem to miss.

Paul

[jabrkeKB]

Paul,

Thanks for taking the time to join in on this forum. It is great to get the author's insight  about the book.

I was glad to see that there will be two more books about Mike.

I'm thoroughly enjoying your book and I will recommend it to my neighborhood book club.

Kris

[Paul-Doiron]

jabrkeKB wrote:

Paul,

Thanks for taking the time to join in on this forum. It is great to get the author's insight  about the book.

I was glad to see that there will be two more books about Mike.

I'm thoroughly enjoying your book and I will recommend it to my neighborhood book club.

Kris

Kris,

Thank you so much for the compliment. With new authors like me, word of mouth is so important. I don't have an established name to sell The Poacher's Son, so if it's going to succeed it's going to be largely because of people like you.

Paul

[50fun50]

I am really enjoying this book, thanks for letting us read it before others.

I have a question about the title.  Did you mean to have it as a true description of the characters or were you also thinking of the word poaching in a more liberal meaning.  If poaching means a person who trespasses on private property, was there also a feeling of "poaching" on the characters personal, private life "propery."  Or maybe it is a pure description and I need to not read so late into the evening!

Thanks again!

[kstempien]

I was going to ask the same question regarding any type of series. Reading the response prior to posting my question, I must say that I am also glad to hear that there will be more of Mike to follow. love the idea of his maturity progressing as the books continue!! I'm really enjoying this story so far and can't wait to read more! I have alot of reading and assignments I need to be doing for classes, but I constantly find myself picking up The Poacher's Son instead!!!  Thanks Again, Paul, for allowing us the opportunity to have this as our FL reading selection!

[Paul-Doiron]

50fun50 wrote:

I am really enjoying this book, thanks for letting us read it before others.

I have a question about the title.  Did you mean to have it as a true description of the characters or were you also thinking of the word poaching in a more liberal meaning.  If poaching means a person who trespasses on private property, was there also a feeling of "poaching" on the characters personal, private life "propery."  Or maybe it is a pure description and I need to not read so late into the evening!

Thanks again!

I am all in favor of reading late into the evening. In fact, I heartily endorse it!

But no, the title is literal. Having said that, I think you can read the title several ways. Literally, Mike Bowditch is the son of a man who poaches deer. But it also speaks to Mike's frame of mind that he defines his father through that illegal activity (instead of, for instance, as a legitimate hunting guide which Jack also is). And more to the point, it's how Mike sees himself throughout much of the book: instead of viewing himself as a law enforcement officer, he views himself as the son of a criminal.

Paul

[LindaEducation]

Hi Paul.

I am really really enjoying your book, and feel privileged that I am one of the first readers.  You already answered my question in one of the above posts about how most of the characters are not really based on anyone you know with the exception of Mike.  I must say I really like the character Mike.  I am also pleased to hear we will be seeing more of Mike, and that his character will be growing along with the books.

Keep up the great work. I look forward to reading more books written by you.

Linda

[Paul-Doiron]

Linda,

Thank you so much for the support. As a first novelist, I really don't know what to expect in terms of publicity or sales, but the encouragement I've already gotten from this group has been a real gift.

Paul

[Zyna]

Hey Paul,

I finished your book a while ago (I just could not put it down!), and I have to say that, as a first novel, it was very well-written. I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Poacher's Son and wouldn't mind seeing Mike Bowditch appear as the protagonist in future novels. Of course, I also wouldn't mind the appearance of new protagonists with their own adventures ;]

Going back through the novel, I was wondering if Mike mentioning Benedict Arnold as his childhood hero was meant to show Mike's naivety or if it was a clever form of foreshadowing... Or both? Or neither

Thanks,

Zyna

[Peppermill]

Zyna wrote:

Hey Paul,

I finished your book a while ago (I just could not put it down!), and I have to say that, as a first novel, it was very well-written. I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Poacher's Son and wouldn't mind seeing Mike Bowditch appear as the protagonist in future novels. Of course, I also wouldn't mind the appearance of new protagonists with their own adventures ;]

Going back through the novel, I was wondering if Mike mentioning Benedict Arnold as his childhood hero was meant to show Mike's naivety or if it was a clever form of foreshadowing... Or both? Or neither

Thanks,

Zyna

And what parts of Benedict Arnold's star-crossed life are you really expecting the reader to pick up and relate to, as well as guess what Mike means with his statement?  Frankly, I got lost on that one. 

[EiLvReedn]

I agree with Zyna this was a VERY GOOD first book. I can now see the continuing adventures of Mike Bowditch. Surely there's another issue or problem in the Maine woods he could tackle. Ha! Anyway thanks for the opportunity to read this book and I look forward to more. I might even have to take a trip to Maine to see what these woods look like.

[Paul-Doiron]

EiLvReedn wrote:

I agree with Zyna this was a VERY GOOD first book. I can now see the continuing adventures of Mike Bowditch. Surely there's another issue or problem in the Maine woods he could tackle. Ha! Anyway thanks for the opportunity to read this book and I look forward to more. I might even have to take a trip to Maine to see what these woods look like.

Thank you! As the editor of Down East: The Magazine of Maine, I think it's my duty to encourage you to take a trip to my fair state. I always recommend the month of September: great weather, smaller crowds. 

Paul

[Peppermill]

I guess I do see the initial novels as falling under the coming of age genre—although I've never had that term in my head until you used it.

Paul -- It was actually another reader (I'm too lazy to find her/his post right now) who mentioned the "coming of age genre" when suggesting the bear seemed more relevant to that development than to the mystery storyline.

Since my first thought for "coming of age" books is teenage based stories, I had to stop for a few minutes.  Then, for some reason, John Fowles's book came to mind.   I presume you probably know it.  The last time someone suggested reading it for our book group, I adamantly said "no."  I wasn't ready to re-read it.  Maybe by now, I've mellowed enough that it is time to revisit.  Two different worlds ....

The Magus   

Another two books I'll ask if you have read are Steig Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire . They each have a character that is developed over multiple books, in this case a female computer wonk.  Larsson's work also apparently made him comfortable at portraying corporate moguls, albeit many of them rather nasty. His novels span Sweden.

I was initially quite unhappy with the female game warden supervisor.  I was afraid she was going to be that gratuitous character urged upon the new generation of writers in toney writers' workshops, along with the disabled, et al.  But, she grew on me as the story progressed and seemed to take on a justifiable role. 

[BookWoman718]

Peppermill wrote:

.

I was initially quite unhappy with the female game warden supervisor.  I was afraid she was going to be that gratuitous character urged upon the new generation of writers in toney writers' workshops, along with the disabled, et al.  But, she grew on me as the story progressed and seemed to take on a justifiable role. 

Pepper, when I read your earlier comment about the female game warden possibly being a token, I was taken aback, as that thought had never occurred to me as I read.  I assumed that in this day and age, female superiors in a law enforcement setting were routine.  I was curious and actually went to the Maine Game Warden website to see what I could find out.  I didn't see any direct  stats on the gender breakdown, but the service did appear to be overwhelmingly male.  So you had a valid point.    Then, about a page of posts ago, Paul addressed the issue directly, commenting that while there were and are some very fine women in the service, the proportion of them is, in his opinion, far too low.   I liked his reasons for including this character just as she is, however, and perhaps a successful novel about the Game Warden Service will bring attention to what could be a fine job opportunity for enthusiastic outdoorswomen.  Let's hope so!   

And note to Paul:  fictionally, I think Mike deserves to meet a great new female recruit who would be as devoted to the lifestyle as he is!

[Temolly]

Aloha, Paul!

First of all, thank you for sharing your book with the rest of us.  I didn't know how this was all going to work or that there was a schedule, so I read it through right away.  No regrets... I will look forward to the rest of the Mike Bowditch series.  I'd love to watch him "grow up." 

I'm interested in your comment about the culture of the Maine's wilderness and how it differs from the West Coast.  How would you describe their respective cultures?  Having lived in the west coast more than other areas, I'd like to hear about their differences.  Without a doubt, I'd love to take my family to Maine one summer.  It sounds extraordinary!

By the way, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who missed that Sarah was his girlfriend.

Again, thanks, or as we say here in Hawaii, mahalo, Paul.

[ReadingPatti]

Paul, Hi, ReadingPatti here, I just wanted to thank you for such a gread book. I love the way you developed your characters and the mystery just adds to the story.

I was glad to see that there will be more books about Mike. He seems like a really nice guy who is finding himself and his way in life.

Please keep up the great work.

ReadingPatti