Maine author’s crime novels launched after being struck by lightning

Paul Doiron once struggled to write. Now he’s about to publish his 16th novel, a success that started with a bolt from above.

Paul Doiron speaks to the crowd at the Word Festival in Blue Hill on Oct. 24. Photo by Steele Hays.

By Steele Hays

BLUE HILL–Maine’s rugged natural beauty and the authenticity of its people have been key elements of his success as a best-selling crime mystery writer, author Paul Doiron told Word Festival attendees on Oct. 24. 

“Maine has remained an authentic place, unlike so many parts of the country. If you’ve ever been to Florida, you know what I mean,” Doiron said. “People here aren’t thinking about how they’re going to present themselves when they get dressed. They just dress for the cold. And that’s what I want to do–present Mainers as they are.” 

Doiron joined fellow Maine author Elizabeth Hand of Lincolnville to discuss the challenges and rewards of writing crime fiction. 

Doiron, who grew up in southern Maine, described his struggles as a young writer fresh after graduation from Yale. He moved to Los Angeles to try to make it as a writer, but realized that he didn’t yet have enough life experience to be a successful author. So he returned to Maine and, while camping in a remote part of Western Maine, he and a friend were struck by lightning. They had to be rescued by emergency responders, including a Maine game warden. He recounted that harrowing experience in an article published by Down East magazine, where he later became editor. 

That experience also inspired Doiron to create his fictional character Mike Bowditch, the protagonist and hero of his series of 15 crime novels set in Maine. Bowditch is a Maine game warden and investigator with a troubled past and a propensity for getting into difficult situations. Being able to focus on Bowditch’s development as a person is what’s allowed him to keep the series fresh and engaging, Doiron said.  

“It’s a series about a man growing up, sometimes progressing, sometimes regressing,” he said. “It keeps me from repeating myself. It’s allowed me to write about something I know–the Maine outdoors–and to bring Maine to an international audience, which has been a fantastic opportunity.” 

The sixteenth book in the series, “Storm Tide,” will be published in June 2026.

Doiron credited the men and women of the Maine game warden service for his success and thanked them for being willing to share their stories and knowledge. He regularly does “ride alongs” with wardens as they make their rounds. 

This was not Doiron’s first visit to the Blue Hill Peninsula. Soon after his first Bowditch novel was published in 2010, he was invited by a teacher at George Stevens Academy to speak to his English class. When Doiron learned that the students had been assigned to read his first book, “The Poacher’s Son,” and he sensed their enthusiasm about the book, he was “floored,” he said.

“It really was one of the most moving things about my life as an author,” he said.