PORTLAND, Maine — For much of the past month, Steven Rowley has been traveling around the country promoting his new novel, "The Celebrants." And while out on the road, he received about the best news a writer can get: his book had made The New York Times best-seller list.
"I couldn’t believe it," Rowley said. "I was someone who always dreamed of writing from when I was a kid in the library, and I thought perhaps it was a job that was available to you if you grew up in Manhattan or had a society name or something."
The memory of that library is vivid. Rowley grew up in Maine, and when asked by Down East Magazine to name his favorite place in the entire state, he picked the South Portland Public Library.
"It’s the library where I learned to read," he said with enthusiasm. "I am able to do what I do today because I had parents who got me a public library card and encouraged me to use it."
Writing has brought Rowley money, praise, and a degree of fame, and although he has lived in California for many years, he still relishes the simple pleasures of summer in his hometown of South Portland.
"I went straight from the library last night across the street to Red’s Dairy Freeze,” he said.
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