Harpswell Center resident’s historical novel reimagines story of Salem survivor

Sometimes the story behind the story is just as fascinating as the story itself.

That’s the case with “Dry Tinder,” a new historical novel written and published by Harpswell Center resident Janice Thompson that evolved out of Thompson’s successful but bittersweet effort to restore a historic home in Massachusetts.

Thompson said she first became intrigued with the true story of her book’s characters, the Towne sisters, in 2004 when she was living in Ashland, Massachusetts, which abuts the town of Framingham. What followed was a complex saga that unfolded over 20 years, filled with its own plot twists and turns.

She learned that Framingham was founded in 1700 by survivors of the Salem witch trials who were invited to the region by Thomas Danforth, then-deputy governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, who was also the magistrate who sent Sarah Towne Bridges Cloyce to jail for alleged witchcraft.

Thompson ultimately took it upon herself to tell the sisters’ story, with Sarah as the lead protagonist. The book’s title refers to how a complex web of circumstances ignited community hysteria, “like dry tinder to a carelessly lit match.”

“I’m not related to any of these people,” Thompson said in an interview. “The story just caught me, and I couldn’t let it go.”

Perhaps most surprisingly, Thompson said her initial plans didn’t involve writing a book at all. The project began as an effort to help restore the former Framingham home of Sarah Cloyce, also known as Sarah Clayes, and her husband, Peter.

Thompson, a professional fundraiser, is a co-founder of the nonprofit that publishes the Harpswell Anchor and serves as the organization’s director of development and operations. Back when she found out about the abandoned, dilapidated home, she and other community members formed a nonprofit to raise funds for its restoration. The group’s efforts received extensive press coverage at the time, including stories in USA Today and the Washington Post.

While the restoration project was successful, it didn’t turn out the way Thompson had hoped. She wanted the end result to be a publicly accessible facility with a museum component, but other members of the restoration group disagreed with that plan. The home was ultimately sold to private owners.

“We moved to Maine in 2017, in part because of the heartbreak of this project that I had worked on for 15 years,” Thompson said.

After the restoration project’s disappointing outcome and the subsequent move to Maine, Thompson shifted her focus to writing the book.

It was a massive undertaking that required extensive research into not only the area’s history, but also the lives of her main characters and even how they spoke. Thompson said she probably read 100 books as part of her research.

“Some of that dialogue I took from actual court transcripts,” she said.

Thompson, who had never written a novel before, had to teach herself every step of the writing, editing and publishing process.

She initially shopped the book around to publishing houses, but they all demanded compromises Thompson wasn’t willing to make, such as cutting out much of the early story, before the witch trials began.

In the end, she decided to self-publish, which brought its own set of challenges, especially for a first-time author. But though perseverance, Thompson overcame those challenges and said she is proud of the end result.

“This is the first thing I’ve published, period,” she said. “I’ve learned all this as I went along.”

“Dry Tinder” is available on Amazon, where it currently has a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars. It’s available in digital form for $15, paperback for $20 and hardback for $30. The book also is available at local shops and libraries: Land’s End Gift Shop on Bailey Island, Orr’s Island Library, Curtis Memorial Library and Gulf of Maine Books in Brunswick, and Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shop in Topsham.

Thompson produced two videos fleshing out the story behind the story, which can be viewed on YouTube or her personal website, janicethompson.net.

Amazon reviewer Chip Gregory praised Thompson for her intricate weaving of historical fact and fiction.

“I love historical fiction, and ‘Dry Tinder’ is certainly a book that I can recommend highly,” Gregory wrote. “It is infinitely readable, even as the politics and religious beliefs of the time are often complex. Janice Thompson has clearly done some exhaustive research, and she recreates the longer story of these troubled times and the characters who framed them.”

Have a comment or news tip? Email J. Craig Anderson at craig@harpswellanchor.org.