Two Seasons

by David Wilson

Have you ever sat with friends around a campfire and overheard someone telling a story, or had a family member tell a tall tale, and you thought to yourself, "Did that truly happen?" Two Seasons is about stories that have been handed down, withpossibly just a bit of exaggeration added as many good tales traditionally have.Set in a fictitious and very rural northern Maine township, you may just recognize the setting as a place you've visited, or one of its unique residents as someone you've met before.Wilomena Farnsworth Miller, better known around town as Ma, is the town's matriarch. She's ornery, opinionated, and at no time politically correct. Nonetheless, the townsfolk adore her (mostly), and wouldn't have her be any other way. Ma owns and operates the local diner where the townsfolk spend the majority of their time enjoying a home-cooked meal,gossiping, and telling tales of their own. Whether it be a hunting trip, a day out fishing, or spending time at the local fair,Ma is sure to get herself into a pot of trouble. And, many times dragging others down the rabbit hole along with her.Two Seasons contains amusing adventures had by Ma and the residents of East Puddleduck. A few of which are based on real people and actual events.

245 pages, Paperback

Published February 21, 2023

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Award winning author David Wilson was born on Halloween in Bangor, Maine in the late 1960s. Coming from a blue-collar background, during the 1970s much of his time was spent at their family camp deep in the woods of northern Maine where fishing, hunting, and other outdoor, non-electronic activities filled his time.

David became heavily involved in art during his childhood years and continued the hobby into adulthood. He prefers pencil and acrylics as his preferred medium and has used his amateur talent to help influence his writing through character sketches and paintings.

It wasn’t until later that David made the decision to become an author. His first completed novel, the first in his Maine humor series, was heavily influenced by true stories of his adventures, along with his father’s stories of his own childhood and early adult years.

A career law enforcement officer, David’s memoir, and second book completed, was heavily influenced from his time as a street cop and up through his later years as an undercover narcotics agent and instructor for the Maine State Police Academy. His memoir has been described as satirical, opinionated, and gritty.

After completing the second book in his Maine humor series David began to add a genre to his writing, now having published several books in the horror/thriller genre. Many still have the dark humor that David is known for in his writings and are popular with readers of the genre.

While his memoir and thrillers have been known to reflect David’s social opinions, his humor series, as the author describes them, “Are simply just for a laugh.”

David’s also collaborated with one of his book narrators on a paranormal psychological mystery that has become very popular entitled, Last Drive.

David lives in Central Maine with his wife, dog, and two cats. He still enjoys the outdoor activities and his artwork.

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https://www.twoseasons.org/

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Reviews

[Mark Lieberman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have already read one book by David Wilson, called Peanut Butter Memoirs. It’s primarily about his years as a law enforcement office in Maine. Well, he also has two other books about a fictional town with a bunch of interesting fictional characters.

I really enjoyed his style of writing (as it kind of remined me of Frederick Backman). His descriptions of the characters could very easily be somebody you know. The stories he tells of these characters and how they interact with each other, made me laugh out loud several times throughout the book. On one occasion, I was laughing so loud, my wife and son asked me what was so funny? When I told them it was about farting, they also laughed. As I read each chapter, my mind kept wondering, what is going to happen?

My favorite character is Ma, a descendant of the founding family and the owner of Ma’s Diner, where everybody in the town congregates to. She doesn’t put up with any crap, and her voice is loud. She also has a lot of opinions and influences people with her words and looks.

It isn’t specified if Ma, her husband Elmer, and their son Runyon is black or white. They did migrate from Missouri, so we can only assume. If they were black, I can easily see Oprah Winfrey as Ma, Morgan Freeman as Elmer, and Dave Chapelle as Runyon. If they were white, I can easily see Meryl Streep as Ma, Jeff Bridges as Elmer, and Jason Bateman as Runyon.

I just finished the sequel to this one called, Ma’s Diner, and will have that review in a few days.

[Aminta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Also a GREAT read, makes you Love MA even more and the rest of the characters.

[Susan Winters-Smith]

I loved reading Two Seasons and Wilson’s witty irony that flows along like the Androscoggin River. His style reminds me of Howard Mosher, whose last and best book, Points North tells a lengthy saga of a family who came from the West into Vermont. Wilson’s saga is about a family in rural northern Maine, who ended up there through an unusual twist of fate, one of many that happens to them in this story.
Wilson gives us a clear backstory and a detailed description of his well-developed characters that prepare us for the fast-moving chronicle of the inhabitants of the magical mythical town of East Puddleduck. The reader is swept along in the current of hilarious tales with no wasted words whatsoever and not one chance of getting bored. This is not a book that you would set aside for long as you really must know what happens next.
The main character, Ma Farnsworth is a strong though strange woman who owns and runs a diner and never backs down, a trait which draws her into one wild adventure after another. This is real backwoods Maine, where certain modern conveniences are lacking, which can easily set someone up to be sitting in the outhouse and having a huge moose pop it’s head in through the hole in the back wall.
Fishing, boating and ice fishing are great scenarios for dangerous situations like having a giant pickerel biting you in the backside, or a bull moose wading out into Pug Pond and grabbing a fish before Ma or her husband Elmer can catch one.
Hunting moose could cause someone to get lost in the deep woods, and be followed home by a friendly but hungry bear who enjoys hanging around town for a while.
The townspeople of East Puddleduck find plenty to do, with their own Town Fair creating an uproar of jealousy over whose farm animal is the best, leading to a chicken fight and a roll in the pig sty. Then there is the great pigeon hunt that comes about because of an infestation of rare, protected pigeons causing a mess on every surface of the town.
The town politics and town elections are full of the stories we hear a lot about from folks who grew up in the rural northeast, when town meetings were a lot of talk, complaints and arguments, with almost nothing getting accomplished. I won’t even try to explain what happens to foreigners from out of state who think they can speed through town ignoring Ma Farnsworth’s signs.
I guarantee that visitors to East Puddleduck will be looking forward to the sequel when they can learn what’s going on now in the woods or at the diner.

[Janet Damren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! The writing was superb! While I was reading the book I could actually visualize the characters. The happenings in that town was great! Loved every page of it! I would love to see more like this.

Thanks David!