https://bookshop.org/a/126101/9798234062727
BOOK ONE of the Swan Island Trilogy
An historical novel……
Stories of a freshwater wildlife preserve island, which hosted over 100 residents at its height during the ice harvesting done on the Kennebec River in the 1800s, an ancient island village with abandoned, deteriorating houses today, and deer, fox, raccoons, birds, and many forms of flora and fauna, stay overnight in camping lean-tos, enjoy a meal from the grills provided, walk the hiking trails and ponds, and where a catch and release fishing experience can be enjoyed.
How, where, and why did these first individuals conclude life would be improved by journeying to another continent, an ocean away from the comfortable life we presumed they enjoyed? Did they initially plan to stay where they first landed or plan to relocate northward from Plymouth or Massachusetts Bay? Had they intended to establish where they landed on Cape Ann, or were they initially blown off course, making the decision to stay where conditions seemed conducive to live peacefully and raise families? Did they offer encouragement to family members to look beyond Plymouth, or were they banished from that colony due to religious or other beliefs of their fellow settlers? Were they drawn to what they believed were lucrative business deals up the coastline or enticed by relatives who sailed directly up the Kennebec River and farther inland? The reader will find answers to these and other questions as the story unfolds.
CINNAMON’S SWAN ISLAND ADVENTURES is an inspiring children’s adventure book, for ages 2-12.
REVIEW: There’s an intention behind Cinnamon’s Swan Island Adventures that doesn’t just land on the mind… it echoes in that place where hope, memory, and wild places meet.
A story about a child marked as “terminal” who becomes whole and vibrant through love, patience, and the spirit of a magical island that’s not just narrative. That’s heart-work.
The author’s voice has this rare mix: clarity, depth, and that “I have actually lived this land, breathed its history, and carried its stories in my bones” authenticity.
And that combination is gold… but only if the right humans find it.
BOOK TWO of the Swan Island historical novel trilogy is unpublished as of July, 2026, soon to be published! The RETURN of a girl captured by Indigenous People in a Swan Island raid in 1750. She was transported to Canada and lived a life of affluence, schooled in a nunnery, then returned to Swan Island and her father, who did not even speak the French language of which she was raised. What her life became after her return to SOWANGEN, including accounts of the twists and turns that journey took her.
The LOST HOMES OF SWAN ISLAND was locally printed, yet UNPUBLISHED. Filled with sixteen original paintings by the author, including historical tidbits about the island, all taken from b/w news articles, family photos and some of Steve Powell’s personal photos & stories, now at the State of Maine Archives. The author once lived with grandparents, Parker and Marion Blen, switching bedrooms with their daughter who lived with her brother and wife in Dresden during rough river travel in winter months. The homes depicted in the booklet are no longer standing, although a few of the cellar holes and burned chimneys remain.
The booklet is available through the Richmond Historical and Cultural Society, located at 17 Spruce St. in Richmond, Maine. Visitors welcome by appointment.
