Lea Wait

Back in Harbor Haven, Maine, after discovering that her missing mother had been murdered, Angie Curtis finds solace in her grandmother, Estelle, and the Mainely Needlepointers business group, but soon the tenuous peace is broken when Angie and Estelle become suspects in the murder of a shady associate of the needlepointers. Original.

Twisted Threads

When fellow antiques dealers begin dying under suspicious circumstances during the Rensselaer County Spring Antiques Fair, suspicion is cast on the young friend of Maggie, who struggles to find the real killer, sell her prints, and forge a new relationship before the fair ends. A first novel. Reprint.

An Antique Print Mystery

Shadows at the Fair

When she is asked to appraise a collection of needlepoint furnishings housed in a supposedly haunted Victorian mansion, Angie Curtis discovers what really happened to the original occupant of the house, who died under mysterious circumstances.

Threads of Evidence

First in the Mainely Needlepoint series. “A cozy debut that hits all the sweet spots: small town, family ties, and a crew of intriguing personalities.”—Library Journal Returning to the quaint coastal town of Harbor Haven, Maine—a place she once called home—Angie Curtis finds her memories aren’t all quite pleasant ones . . . After leaving a decade ago, Angie has been called back to Harbor Haven by her grandmother, Charlotte, who raised her following her mother’s disappearance when she was a child. Her mother has been found, and now the question of her whereabouts has sadly become the mystery of her murder. The bright spot in Angie’s homecoming is reuniting with Charlotte, who has started her own needlepointing business with a group called Mainely Needlepointers. But when a shady business associate of the stitchers dies suddenly under suspicious circumstances, Charlotte and Angie become suspects. As Angie starts to weave together clues, she discovers that this new murder may have ties to her own mother’s cold case . . . Praise for the Mainely Needlepoint mysteries “Offers a wonderful sense of place and characters right from the very beginning. Highly recommended.”—Suspense Magazine “For a trip to Maine for the cost of a book, this is the author to read.”—Kings River Life Magazine “Deep atmosphere, secrets from the past and a mystery interview with sharp plotting and well-developed, sympathetic characters create another winner in the second of the Mainly Needlepoint Mysteries.”—RT Book Reviews

The Mainely Needlepointers are about to learn that no man is an island—especially when greedy developers want his land . . . Hermit Jesse Lockhart lives alone on King’s Island, three miles east of Haven Harbor, Maine, where he’s created a private sanctuary for the endangered Great Cormorants. But when a wealthy family wants to buy the island and Jesse’s cousin Simon petitions for power of attorney to force him to sell, Jesse is the one who becomes endangered. Mainely Needlepointer Dave Perry, who befriended Jesse in the VA hospital, rallies the group to his defense. Angie Curtis and the ravelers stitch “Save the King’s Island Cormorants” pillows and sell T-shirts to pay for Jesse’s legal counsel. But tragically, on a visit to the island, Angie finds Jesse dead. Now the search is on for a common thread that can tie the murdered man to his killer . . . “Offers a wonderful sense of place and characters right from the very beginning. Highly recommended.” —Suspense Magazine on Threads of Evidence

Dangling by a Thread

Angie investigates after a piece of embroidery the Mainely Needlepointers identified as possibly knitted by Mary, Queen of Scots, is stolen and the lawyer who was safeguarding the precious antique is murdered.

Thread and Gone

Angie and the Needlepointers need to trim down the naughty list, catch a cold-hearted killer, and wrap up the case ...

Thread the Halls

In the coastal town of Haven Harbor, blood runs thicker than water--and just as freely . . . Antique dealer Sarah Byrne has never unspooled the truth about her past to anyone--not even friend and fellow Mainely Needlepointer Angie Curtis. But the enigmatic Aussie finally has the one thing she's searched for all her life--family. And now she and long-lost half-brother, Ted Lawrence, a wealthy old artist and gallery owner in town, are ready to reveal their secret connection . . . Ted's adult children are suspicious of their newfound aunt Sarah--especially after Ted, in declining health, announces plans to leave her his museum-worthy heirloom paintings. So when Ted is poisoned to death during a lobster bake, everyone assumes she's guilty. If Sarah and Angie can't track down the real murderer in time, Sarah's bound to learn how delicate--and deadly--family dynamics can truly be . . .

Tightening the Threads

An impulse purchase at an auction turns out to be deadly trouble when Sarah Byrne makes a television appeal for information about a document found hidden in a framed embroidery.

Thread Herrings

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.

Living and Writing on the Coast of Maine

“A snow-sprinkled, holly-merry, twinkling page-turner of a mystery” from the USA Today bestselling author of Tightening the Threads (Kingdom Books). Christmas in Haven Harbor, Maine, means family, trouble, and murder . . . This Yuletide season, there’s no time for Angie Curtis and Patrick West to linger under the mistletoe. Patrick’s being needled by his mother—movie star Skye West—to set the stage for a perfect white Christmas as she brings her costar, screenwriters, and director home for the holidays. With his mother’s long list of wishes, Patrick’s becoming unraveled. To help, the Mainely Needlepointers offer to decorate Skye’s Victorian mansion and create needlepoint pillows as gifts for the guests. But not long after the celebrity celebrants invade Haven Harbor, an unscripted tragedy occurs. Then some questionable Christmas cookies make Patrick sick. Before Santa arrives at the town pier on a lobster boat, Angie and the Needlepointers need to trim down the naughty list, catch a cold-hearted killer, and wrap up the case . . . Praise for the Mainely Needlepoint mysteries “Offers a wonderful sense of place and characters right from the very beginning. Highly recommended.”—Suspense Magazine “A cozy debut that hits all the sweet spots: small town, family ties, and a crew of intriguing personalities.”—Library Journal “For a trip to Maine for the cost of a book, this is the author to read.”—Kings River Life Magazine

In 1806, orphaned eleven-year-old Abigail and her little brother Seth find a home with the young Widow Chase in the seaport of Wiscasset, Maine, and help her discover a way to support them all.

Stopping to Home

"Sometimes a man has to risk everything to do what's right. Doing it is what makes him a man." Thirteen-year-old Michael knows he is lucky. Few slaves in 1805 Charleston are where they want to be. But Michael works on the docks and ships in Charleston Harbor, close to the seas he longs to sail. Life seems good. But when Michael's protective mistress dies, everything changes, and Michael's friend Jim encourages him to run away. Michael is torn. Should he risk everything for a chance at freedom in some unknown place? Or should he stay -- is staying safe worth staying a slave?

Seaward Born

Local antiques dealer, dead in a one-car accident on his way home from an antiques exposition in Columbus, Ohio Two Scranton, Pennsylvania, antiques dealers dead of smoke inhalation Massachusetts antiques dealer dead of substance abuse at an auction in Sharon, Connecticut Antiques dealer dies in his booth at the Westchester (New York) Antiques Show Ignorance is truly bliss for recently widowed Maggie Summer, owner of Shadows Antiques, when she arrives at the prestigious Rensselaer County Spring Antiques Fair. Sadly, she won't remain ignorant of the suspiciously high mortality rate among her fellow antiques dealers for long. Rumors are everywhere. The most recent victim, John Smithson, died of poison at a show just last week, and many of the same dealers are here at Rensselaer. They make the identical circuit year after year, so they know each other well. Or do they? Murder is still far from Maggie's mind as she arranges her Shadows booth: some Currier & Ives prints here, Winslow Homer wood engravings on the hack wall, other prints arranged on tables and easels by category. With eleven years' experience, she knows her stock. So far the worst thing that has happened was putting the wrong price tag on a Homer engraving and having to sell it for $170 instead of $1,700. Maggie doesn't intend for that to happen again, and she doesn't intend to worry about murder. This show's security is tight. But she can't help observing her colleagues with fresh eyes. Some, Eke Gussie White in the booth next door, are dear friends, and Gussie's assistant, her twenty-year-old nephew, Ben, who has Down's syndrome, is a delightful new acquaintance. Others, however, even people she's known for years, suddenly seem suspect. The opening night wine has hardly stopped flowing when death claims another victim. Maggie will still sell a few antique prints, but she'll spend most of her time looking for a killer and trying to save a vulnerable young friend. Will Maggie herself become a potential victim? The answer may be in one of Maggie's prints, but she has hundreds in her booth. Where should she begin? With its riveting behind-the-scenes glimpse of antiques shows and its revealing data on antique-print values, Shadows at the Fair introduces a captivating new series that unveils the powerful mysteries of antique prints even as it entertains.

Antique print dealer Maggie Summer’s Maine vacation is unexpectedly interrupted when she finds herself the heir to four generations of family secrets involving unrequited love, jealousy, art-and murder. In the summer of 1890, two young women posed for artist Winslow Homer on the coast of Maine. What happened that summer, the secrets the women kept, and the lies they told, changed their families forever. Now, more than a hundred years later, one of their descendants has been murdered, leaving to antique print dealer Maggie Summer the family papers that may finally reveal the truth. Maggie's vision of a relaxing vacation in Maine -- antiquing with beau Will Brewer and visiting his Aunt Nettie -- turns into a murder investigation. Maggie must discover which of the family myths are based on reality, before someone she cares about becomes the next victim.

Shadows of a Down East Summer

Lesley Bolton

A Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.

Writing Children's Books

The Only Writing Series You'll Ever Need

"What happened this afternoon is too terrible to write...Please, God, let Will live. And please, God, forgive me." Cassie's journal opens her dramatic story and that of her older brother Will, as they are both forced to reexamine their lives after a farm accident leaves Will without a leg -- and without hope. After a winter of healing, Will knows his future must be away from the farm that he loves. He and Cassie go to stay with their older sister and her husband in the nearby town of Wiscasset. There, with the excitement of Maine's new statehood as a backdrop, Will finds that being disabled can be a social handicap as well as physical one. But with hard work he can win respect -- and find exciting possibilities for his future. Living in town opens Cassie's eyes too. She sees Will considering career options not open to her, and she wonders if she can be fulfilled by keeping a house and a family. Are there other possibilities for a young woman in 1820? As Cassie watches Will make his life decisions, she struggles to find her own place in the world. From the author of Stopping to Home and Seaward Born comes this remarkable story of hardship, determination, and the joy of finding the right path in life.

Lea Wait

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