How do you find your one in 100 million?

That’s one of the questions posed in Damariscotta author Shannon Parker’s third novel, “Love & Lobsters.” The story centers on female lobsterman Charlie Pinkham, who’s more comfortable braving the seas of the Atlantic in her hometown of Christmas Cove, Maine than the seas of romance. 

But when she writes a post for her friend’s Happily Ever Holidays blog, Charlie’s unromantic piece goes viral. Readers connect with lobster behavior, and how they’re hardwired to protect themselves from their own species—a trait Charlie respects. Yet, she can’t quell her growing interest in Logan, the mysterious man renting her family’s lighthouse for December. The book is out Oct. 1. 

Like Parker’s other two novels, the idea for this book has been percolating for a while but became fully formed while she was kayaking. Words, sentences and characters took shape as Parker rhythmically paddled through the water.  “I'm so inspired by everything, the natural world, the weather, the smell of the ocean, I just drink that in and it wakes something in me,” she explained. Afterwards, Parker would return to her truck, unloading everything she had thought into in her email and sending it to herself.

Parker was inspired by the cultural connection between love and lobsters—notably Phoebe Buffay’s now iconic declaration of “you’re my lobster” from the 90s sitcom Friends that has made its way into the public lexicon—mixed with a desire to capture the region in its off-season. 

Parker wanted to highlight the hard work that people and the community do to keep small towns in Midcoast Maine thriving year-round. This culture of Maine grit and determination factored in to Parker’s understanding of her protagonist’s role as a female lobsterman, especially in romance fiction.  

“Women have always been doing the hard jobs that men do, and raising babies and caring for the elderly. Sometimes they have to do it because it's times of war. Sometimes they do it because it's in their family. But I love this moving away from gendered roles,” explained Parker. It was also important for her to highlight strong women in her work, as someone who was shaped by strong women, and who wants to provide representation for the generations to come. 

Charlie Pinkham as a character came to Parker “fully formed:” Someone who leans on Mother Nature and the rules of the lobstering industry both for her livelihood, and how she understands the rules of love. “Never fish in someone else's territory,” “if territory is taken, it’s taken,” and “find your one in 100 million.” 

Eventually, Parker wrote the novel’s first draft in six weeks while renting a cabin on Biscay Pond “(Writing this book) was like the process of falling in love, it was intoxicating, all-consuming.”

However, despite romance love being the main throughline, for Parker, the book’s most important theme is community, and all the different forms of love that are tied to it. 

“I think the quality of our lives is measured by the quality of our relationships. If you have a best friend, if you're close with your parents, if you're close with your community, you have a good life,” she explained. “I wanted to highlight how that pops up for me again and again in Maine, people showing up” for one another. 

Parker will sign books from 1 to 4 p.m. during Sherman's 2nd Annual Maine Authors' Festival at 65 Fair Mall Road, Topsham, on Saturday, Nov. 16.

Signed copies of “Love & Lobsters” will be available at Sherman’s. Unsigned copies are also available on Amazon. The book’s first chapter is available for preview online at https://loveandlobsters.com