On Thursday June 8, Southport native Charles Britton, pen name C.W. Wells, discussed the writing and publishing process during a talk at Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library (BHML). 

Britton self-published his first book “Eight-Man Cowboy” in 2021, which pulled from his own coaching experiences. This includes coaching high school football in Texas, high school baseball in New York and hockey at both the high school and college levels. “Eight-Man Cowboy” follows the story of a disgraced NFL coach who finds himself in charge of coaching eight-man high school football in small town Maine. The book has since performed steadily on Amazon, and has become something of a “local bestseller” thanks to word of mouth, according to Britton. 

John O’Connell, who attended the lecture, is one such fan. After stumbling upon “Eight-Man Cowboy” at the library, O’Connell suggested BHML host Britton. He also praised Britton for the authenticity of his characters. “I don’t like to see these kind of fiction mills where the author pumps out something that’s 75% the same from their last book.”

Britton has a background in writing non-fiction, having worked at the Boothbay Register during his college years, and later at Bangor Daily News, but “Eight-Man Cowboy” was his first foray into writing long-form fiction. He has always admired the genre. 

“I think there's tremendous creativity in being able to create your own world,” he said. “For me, it was also kind of an escape.” 

Britton turned to Youtube for writing advice, where one memorable video proclaimed that anyone able to finish a book, even if it goes unpublished, is automatically “a badass.” “I’ve never been a badass in my life, and if this is the only way I can become a badass, then this is what’s going to happen,” recalled Britton, laughing.

He admitted his first attempt was not perfect, with some grammar mistakes since fixed in newer versions, but it has been a great learning experience. Britton’s second novel, “Lonestar,” was picked up by Creative Texts Publishers and published earlier this year. He also signed a 50-year contract, which mandates that he write a book every single year. “It’s taken a very fun pursuit and made it more fun in some ways, but there is a little stress element now because I have to (do one a year).”

However, Britton expressed his excitement to be able to do something fulfilling after retirement. “I feel very fortunate that I found this at this point. I’ve got something to do every day and, for me, that’s really meaningful and fun.”

BHML will host an author talk featuring Fred Kaplan to discuss his book “His Masterly Pen: A Biography of Jefferson the Writer” on Tuesday, June 20 at 1 p.m.