Boothbay Harbor friends and fans of Maine’s Blue Collar Author Jerry Farnham were at Brady’s for their copies of the conclusion of the “Red At Night” series.

Entitled, appropriately enough, “Last Light,” readers will find out how everything shakes out for the Finn family, among many of the longtime lobster fishermen of Boothbay Harbor. Readers have been waiting for this final installment – and, honestly, who wouldn’t be after the harrowing goings on in the second book, “Red in the Morning!"

From the start, Jerry’s never shied away from tackling tough subjects, including human trafficking and drug smuggling, and bringing them right to his hometown.

At the Oct. 3 event, all four of the “Red At Night” series books were available, including box sets in handmade crates crafted by one of Jerry’s beta readers, Mark Webster, a retired shop teacher and shipwright. And isn’t a crate the perfect design to hold a book series based in a lobstering community? Genius! Jerry said all three sold within the first 15 minutes of the event.

Every book sold was autographed, and not just by Jerry. Two Boothbay Harbor friends, also characters in the series, Clive Farrin and Earl Brewer III, also had pens in hand. Earl caused a bit of a stir when he arrived dressed in a dark suit with bow tie and slicked back hair carrying his own pen.

Back in the day, he and Jerry were teammates on the YMCA Dolphins swim team. “His mother was known for cheering for everyone on the team,” Jerry said. “I don't want to spoil anything, so I won't say too much about Earl's character in the book, but I will say there’s a nod to Earl’s mother in there.”

Clive said if he’d known Earl was coming in character he would’ve worn a sou’wester (think large yellow rain hat) or something. It was really cool seeing Jerry, Clive and Earl all signing the books together, three local characters in their own right, two of ‘em sharing a spotlight of the fictional kind.

Taking a gander ‘round the deck I spied a woman reading at a table, waterside, and meandered over. You know she was already reading “Last Light.” Turns out she was Jerry’s Aunt Cindy Chances, who, like many of the series’ fans, had to re-read “Red in the Morning,” for a character refresher. She wasn’t alone: There were a lot of characters in that second book and I know I’ll be needing a refresher, too – soon as I finish my current read also by a local author.

Anyway, I asked her what it was like to have an author nephew. “Awesome! Just awesome,” she replied, adding she was so hooked after the first three pages of the second book she couldn’t put it down. It just wasn’t an option. “I needed to get some things done but then I said, ‘No, no, I got to read this.’”

Next I spied Kim Burnham with book in hand. So, I asked, what is it about Jerry’s books that keep her coming back for more. "I just loved the flow of it and the suspense. It kept my attention to the end. If I can't get into a book within the first chapter, I'm not going to be really interested. But these grab my attention right off.”

Jerry’s mom Michelle, aka “very proud author mama,” and I chatted for a bit. She’s halfway through “First Light,’ the third book with the back stories of the series’ characters. “Everybody's been saying the fourth one’s out and I say I know. But, I like having him sign it first.”

Michelle and I then tried to figure out who Earl was, because he wasn’t telling. A hit man, maybe? A drug smuggler? A mobster? In the end we decided we’d just have to find out with book in hand.

In addition to Mark Webster, another of Jerry’s beta readers, Joanne Allen, was there. OK, I had to look up what a “beta reader” was. This is a person asked to read a new book when it’s almost finished, noting how the book flows, how the plot lines carry through, etc. and then give an author their feedback. Not only is Joanne one of the beta readers, she received a promotion as a character in the series as Boothbay Harbor’s town manager.

Allen said, “I met Jerry after the first book was released. I just loved his story, and I thought he was a very nice young man. A few weeks later, he posted on Facebook about needing beta readers. I volunteered, and then we just sort of hit it off, and I've been going along ever since.”

OK, good to know. But, how did Joanne come to be Boothbay Harbor’s town manager in the series? Jerry asked her during a phone call. She replied, "Well, I'm not sure that Julia (Latter, real life town manager) will like it too much, but sure, let’s give it a go!”

Jerry’s wife Marty and their son and daughter were on hand, taking care of sales and getting books out to the eager readers, some who were waiting for all of the books of the series to be written before reading the first. I get that – it’s kinda the equivalent of binge-watching TV shows on Netflix.

Now that the “Red At Night” series has concluded, for the most part, anyway, Jerry’s begun writing a new series based on the Lizzy Williams character. And, he made a point of saying some characters from the first series will show up now and again. Seems Jerry’s as attached as we are to all of them, too. Nah, probably more so.

Look where a daydream can take you …

All of Jerry Farnham’s books are available at all Sherman’s Coastal Book Stores, Amazon and at https://jerryfarnham.com/