At the risk of sounding hokey, I’ve always felt destined to write about Dalton, which is inspired by the tiny town where I grew up in Aroostook County, Maine — as far north as you can go in the state before hitting Canada. While all the characters and events in the books are fictional, the beautiful yet isolated setting is borrowed from real life.
From the time I started writing stories when I was a kid, much of my fiction has revolved around this place and my complicated feelings toward it: As much as I have always held a deep adoration of the land, I have also often felt somehow separate from it. Writing about Aroostook allowed me to discover my familiar world through different perspectives and to explore the ways such a secluded landscape can shape, inspire, unite, and limit the people who call it home.
–Shannon Bowring, Interview, The Washington Independent Review
What booksellers are saying about Where the Forest Meets the River
- I fell in love with this from the first chapter and beyond. WIth a different character narrating each chapter, you are all in, feeling like they are your neighbors. While everyone in Dalton is recovering from life trauma and in turn, trying to move forward the best they can you move with them as life takes them for a ride. Small towns can feel like they are strangling you but they can also make you feel right at home and loved. I can’t wait to go back and read her first book. Will make a great book club discussion. The town of Dalton is someplace I want to move to. If you love Elizabeth Berg, you will love Shannon Bowring. Having grown up in New England, I know these areas and people well and she gives them so much life.
― Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina | BUY
- A lovely sequel to The Road to Dalton. I love the characters and the feel of the small town. A great read!
― Stephanie Crowe, Page & Palette in Fairhope, Alabama | BUY
- I was so happy to have a sequel to The Road to Dalton; Shannon Bowring has such a unique talent for bringing people and places to life. Reading Where the Forest Meets the River and returning to Dalton reminds me of the feeling I had returning to my small hometown after the pandemic: I knew bad things had happened and things had changed, but I never should have doubted that life would continue and hope would prevail. This is the perfect series for anyone who enjoyed Fredrik Backman’s Beartown and is looking for another town to capture your heart.
― Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina | BUY
About Shannon Bowring
Shannon Bowring’s work has appeared in numerous journals and has been nominated for Pushcart and Best of the Net prizes. Her debut novel, The Road to Dalton, was chosen as one of NPR’s Books We Love in 2023. Where the Forest Meets the River is her second novel. She resides in Bath, Maine, and works at the Patten Free Library.
