LEBANON — If imagination is the spark of creativity, Karri L. Moser of Lebanon is connecting her love for Maine with readers who hang on every word she writes.

Moser, a former Army brat and Army wife, fell in love with the state when her husband was stationed in New England and when her husband retired from the military, they chose to make Maine their home. A chance to trip to Ocean Park led to an idea for a book and she spent three years writing her first novel, “The Weathering of Sea Glass,” published in March 2017 and what she describes as “a love letter to Maine.”

The book tells the story of two characters over the span of 35 years who reunite in their mid-50s and find that people do change over time and come out more beautiful in the end.

“The best part about writing a book is the chance to share the stories, settings, and characters I formed in my head. Having these stories and future stories out in written form for the world to have access to is almost like a release that allows me to move on to other stories I want to tell,” Moser said. “While letting my stories ‘go out’ into the world to be shared, criticized, or enjoyed is intimidating, it is liberating to throw them out there. It also allows me to connect to others when they relate to either the plot, setting, or any given character. Also, writing is the one thing I do where I never feel I should be doing something else. Time doesn’t exist. The act of writing itself is the most fulfilling thing I personally do.”

The success of her first book led to a second novel in January 2018 called “Moose Pond Lodge,” a story of self-discovery and self-realization set at a fictional summer resort in Maine that Moser thought of while driving alone to Bethel in the winter.

She says the most challenging aspect of writing is finding the time to do so.

“It took three years to write the first book and months to write the second. When I don’t have the time to get back to my current project, I feel it gnawing at me. It’s always in the back of my mind and that feeling doesn’t go away until I write the last line,” she said. “Also, the marketing aspect of writing and publishing a book can be a challenge. I have learned as I go. Seeking out opportunities to share, sell, and market my book while focusing on a current project can be difficult. The writing part is the easiest and most enjoyable. I dread the ‘selling’ part, but it’s necessary in order to get the word out. I’m not a natural saleswoman.”

Her initial audience started out as middle-age women who enjoy fiction, but as more and more people read have her books, Moser now finds her work is purchased by readers of all ages who share her interest in New England.

“The best comment from a reader is when someone told me they hadn’t read a book since high school or college, but they read mine and that sparked in interest in wanting to read more fiction,” Moser said. “Of course, I have loved when a few readers have told me they cried at certain points in both books. Knowing one person felt something while reading my book is honestly all I set out to accomplish when I finished writing my first one.”

Among Moser’s own favorite authors are Khalid Hosseini, Jeannette Walls, and Eric Larson.

“I love the multi-character perspective and generational story-telling feel of Hosseini’s books. The glimpse into another culture told from both male and female perspectives amazes me. His stories are so deeply woven and lapse over generations while showing the political and social climate of Afghanistan and beyond,” she said. “I love Walls’ books because of the perspective of children growing up in such unusual circumstances and persevering regardless. Her writing is simple, clean, and essentially an innocent and nonchalant autobiographical tone that I admire.

“As for Larson, I love how he weaves history into the fiction aspect of his novels,” Moser said. “He devotes a chapter to historic perspective, essentially a history lesson, then intersperses fiction. I love his back-and-forth technique. However, I would never attempt this way even though I love historical fiction. It seems like way too much work.”

Growing up in Pennsylvania, Moser dreamed of someday becoming a writer.

“Honestly, I wanted to be like Laura Ingalls Wilder. Once I read her books as a kid, I thought there was nothing else better than writing books,” she said. “Even though I pursued science as I got older and majored in biology my first two years in college, before switching to English, I always planned to write books someday even if it was just as a hobby. I was the kid who always wrote stories and loved having notebooks and pens on me.”

Creative writing and fiction was pushed to the side for a while as Moser worked as a newspaper reporter, then wrote for a travel and tourism magazine and later as a freelance writer after she was married and began raising a family.

Her self-published books have done well, selling for $12 in paperback and available through Amazon.

“There’s a real niche for regional fiction,” she said. “A lot of people tell me the books make a nice gift even for people who have moved away from Maine.”

She writes from the home she and her husband built in Lebanon and it’s also home base for the couple’s two children, a 21-year-old daughter who attend the University of Maine and a 19-year-old son who is studying at Husson University. And more Maine-centric books are planned as she’s currently wrapping up the sequel to “Moose Pond Lodge.”

“I fell in love with so much about Maine, and New England in general, when we first moved here,” Moser said. “But I must say, the rocky coast and beach is where I feel happiest. I love every second spent at the beach.”

— Executive Editor Ed Pierce can be reached at 282-1535 ext. 326 or by email at editor@journaltribune.com

Where to Find

Stores offering “The Weathering of Sea Glass” and “Moose Pond Lodge” include:

Nonesuch Books in Biddeford

Dock Square Emporium in Kennebunkport

Whispering Sands in York

Also carrying “The Weathering of Sea Glass” are:

White Birch Books in North Conway

Beyond the Sea in Lincolnville Beach

Morph Gallery in Kennebunkport

Book Burrow in Kennebunkport