Vin Petrini, the author of “Abbington Cove” Courtesy photo
BIDDEFORD — Two young people, Danny and Cassie, set out to explore an old abandoned home in coastal Maine, where they experience something unsettling. So begins “Abbington Cove,” the first novel from Biddeford resident Vin Petrini, which was self published through Barnes & Noble Press late last year.
The book is a “traditional ghost story,” said Petrini, who’s a big fan of fellow Mainer Stephen King.
“I was 12 or 13 years old when I read “Salem’s Lot.” I remember staying up late and having a tree branch scratch the window during one of the (scary) scenes. I almost jumped out of my skin,” he said, recounting how he first fell in love with the genre.
Petrini has always been a voracious reader and occasional writer, but it wasn’t until after he retired from the healthcare industry where he worked as a communications professional for over two decades, that he decided to write a book.
Besides King, Petrini also likes Australian horror author Darcy Coates, and novelist Andy Weir, who penned the 2011 novel “The Martian” that was turned into a film by director Ridley Scott in 2015. But he’s quick to emphasize that his reading interests run the gamut. “I’ll read mysteries or read histories. I’ll read anything that just has an engaging storyline.”
He said that he had been mulling the idea for his book for a year or two, but he actually sat down and put pen to paper in spring of 2022.
“The toughest thing is writing that first sentence,” he recalled, but after that it started flowing. He also had some help from family members who lent editing support and gave him feedback on early drafts.
Though he’s originally from Connecticut, Petrini spent his summers growing up at Fortune’s Rock Beach and these days he lives in Granite Point in Biddeford. Like King, who has set many of his thrillers in his home state, Petrini drew from his surroundings when writing “Abbington Cove.”
While the book is a work of fiction, local readers will recognize many of the locations in Petrini’s book. The novel is also loosely based on Timber Point, the peninsula and island in Biddeford where the former Ewing summer estate is located. Both the nearly 100 acre peninsula and the estate are commonly called Timber Point, which includes a two-story home, a bath house, boat house, a tennis court and swimming pool that were constructed in the early 20th century.
The property was originally owned by the Curtis family starting in the 17th century, but was later purchased by a woman named Louise Parsons Ewing in 1929. Her husband Charles was the master architect behind the home constructed there.
For over eight decades, the home stayed in the Ewing family and while they were alive, Charles and Louise Parson Ewing reportedly entertained artists and authors at the home. The family sold the property to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 2011, where it became part of the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge.
Like any author, Petrini wants readers to enjoy his book, but he also sees the work as serving a specific purpose. He believes that novels can be an important form of escape in a tumultuous world.
“You think about what’s going on in the world right now in Gaza, and in Ukraine, (the) pandemic — those are difficult things for us that are real, they’re uncertain … When you take a story like this and read it and hopefully enjoy it, there’s a way of compartmentalizing that fear and controlling it in a way that can be helpful.”
Petrini said he’s been heartened by the positive reception of the book. He’s also had a number of people tell him they themselves want to write and are inspired by what he’s doing.
His advice for new writers? Just sit down and do it. It may be nerve racking to put your work out there, but ultimately extremely satisfying.
“Even if no one reads it, (the feeling) is fantastic, because you’ve expressed this part of you that’s exciting.”
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
