Name Lea Wait Role Author | Education Chatham University | |
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Born May 26, 1946 (age 77)
Boston, Massachusetts United States ( 1946-05-26 ) Occupation Novelist, antique print dealer Genre Children's fiction, Mystery fiction, Nominations Agatha Award for Best First Novel Books Shadows at the fair, Wintering well, Shadows on the coast of, Stopping to home, Seaward born | ||
Lea Wait is an American author of historical novels, many set in 19th century Maine. She has written a number of children's stories for age 7 and up, as well as the Shadows Antique Print Mystery series for adults.
Contents
Biography
Born in New Jersey, she grew up in a family where books were an important part of life. Her family summered in Maine. She did her undergraduate work at Chatham College - now Chatham University - in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and her graduate work at New York University, completing all requirements for a doctorate except for the dissertation, a 'DWD', and joining AT&T as a manager. Her grandmother was an antiques dealer, and in 1976 she started an antique print business, and decided she should become a writer. She also, as a single parent, adopted four “older” girls born in Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong and India.
It was in 1998 that she left the corporate life and moved to live in Edgecomb, Maine. She now divides her time between her writing and her antique print business. She married Bob Thomas in October 2003.
Antique Print Mysteries
Featuring Maggie Summer, antique dealer and community college professor.
"Shadows at the Fair", 2003, nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel.
"Shadows on the Coast of Maine", 2003, a Mystery Guild Editor's Selection.
"Shadows on the Ivy", 2004.
"Shadows at the Spring Show", 2005.
"Shadows of a Down East Summer", 2011
"Shadows on a Cape Cod Wedding", 2013
"Shadows on a Maine Christmas", 2014 "Shadows on a Morning in Maine" 2016
Mainely Needlepoint Mysteries
"Twisted Treads", 2015
"Threads of Evidence", 2015
"Thread and Gone," 2016
"Dangling By a Thread," 2016
"Tightening the Threads," 2017
Children's Books
Her first children's book, "Stopping to Home", 2001, was named a Notable Book for Children in 2001 by Smithsonian magazine.
"Seaward Born", 2003.
"Wintering Well", 2004, named one of "The Best Children's Books of 2004" by The Children's Book Committee at the Bank Street College of Education
"Finest Kind", 2006.
"Uncertain Glory", 2014
Non-fiction
"The Only Writing Series You'll Ever Need: Writing Children's Books" with Lesley Bolton, 2007
"Living and Writing on the Coast of Maine," 2015