Wonderful time with friend in Maine

Just got back from a long evening car ride to Portland, ME to do a reading promoting my new novel Beautiful Assassin. It was great to see some old friends from my Stonecoast days. While the trip up and back was long, I always love going to Maine, and crossing the bridge from NH into the state is always a psychically "freeing" moment. Not far away I, during twilight I saw a red fox dash across the road, and then stopped to let me dog Henry enjoy the Maine turf. As a writer, I love long car rides. I find myself my creative, more inspired to write, and find more ideas for what I'm writing popping into my head than at any other time. I always keep a micro recorder handy to capture stray thoughts--it's like Nabokov not going anywhere without his butterfly net ready to nab a rare find. But the turnpike up to and through Maine, I have found, is more productive than another other place in the country, and I've driven by car almost everywhere. I-95 with its woods and ocean and seaports is my greatest muse. So thanks to Maine, and by best to those Mainers who can enjoy it daily.