
Randy Spencer
guides fishermen on the Canadian border waters of Downeast Maine. He has been named one of the Ten Most Intriguing People in Maine by Portland Magazine. Yankee Magazine included him as one of the 25 people you need to meet most. He has been the subject of features on “CBS Sunday Morning,” Boston Channel 5’s “Chronicle,” The Wall Street Journal, and ESPN2.
He is the author of the newly published book, Written on Water: Characters and Mysteries from Maine’s Back of Beyond, a wonderful collection of stories about the quirky, colorful residents, fish-out-of-water tourists, and native traditions of Grand Lake Stream, Maine.
He is also the author of two award-winning books: Where Cool Waters Flow: Four Seasons with a Master Maine Guide and Wide and Deep: Tales and Recollections of a Master Maine Fishing Guide.
Randy, his wife Shelley, and their two English Springer Spaniels, divide their time between Grand Lake Stream and Holden, Maine.
Memoir
Lights in the Night
written by Randy Spencer
In the 1990s, there was astronomical research that showed that Washington County, Maine was second only to area 51 in Nevada for UFO sightings in the U.S. This story about mysterious phenomena in the night skies of Grand Lake Stream, Maine is from master fishing guide and award-winning author Randy Spencer, excerpted from his new memoir, Written on Water: Characters and Mysteries from Maine’s Back of Beyond.
Written on Water is an extraordinary collection of tales about the part of Maine that truly is, as those who reside there call it, the “back of the beyond.” With its assemblage of quirky characters who live far off the beaten path, and consider fishing to be a sacred art, the beautiful, watery, down-east Grand Lake Stream (population 132) has been hallowed ground since the 1800s. It is a place where very old ways of life have persisted and, against all odds, the velocity of modern life has not yet invaded its shores and lakes, pines and canoes, and most importantly, its citizens.
© 2021 Randy Spencer | Recording © 2021 Rivercliff Books & Media. All rights reserved.
Read by Randy Spencer
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Stitcher | Email

guides fishermen on the Canadian border waters of Downeast Maine. He has been named one of the Ten Most Intriguing People in Maine by Portland Magazine. Yankee Magazine included him as one of the 25 people you need to meet most. He has been the subject of features on “CBS Sunday Morning,” Boston Channel 5’s “Chronicle,” The Wall Street Journal, and ESPN2.
He is the author of the newly published book, Written on Water: Characters and Mysteries from Maine’s Back of Beyond, a wonderful collection of stories about the quirky, colorful residents, fish-out-of-water tourists, and native traditions of Grand Lake Stream, Maine.
He is also the author of two award-winning books: Where Cool Waters Flow: Four Seasons with a Master Maine Guide and Wide and Deep: Tales and Recollections of a Master Maine Fishing Guide.
Randy, his wife Shelley, and their two English Springer Spaniels, divide their time between Grand Lake Stream and Holden, Maine.

Q&A with Randy
Tell us about your story...
This is an excerpt from my new memoir, Written on Water: Characters and Mysteries from Maine’s Back of Beyond.
What was the inspiration for this story?
Several UFO sigtings in the night skies of Grand Lake Stream, Maine.

If You Enjoyed This Episode…
give these a listen!
Long-Haired Disco Boys
MEMOIR | TERRY BARR
The 1970s in Birmingham, Alabama, was a time fraught with racial tension and confusing questions of identity. Author Terry Barr found the music of that era confusing, as well. Southern rock competed with Glam and Disco, and for a long-haired guy like Terry, finding his place, his sub-culture, and the accompanying music wasn’t easy.
Lightning Flowers
MEMOIR | SARAH K. LENZ
After Sarah Lenz’s father gives her a creepy antique photograph depicting her three great uncles who were struck and killed by the same bolt of lightning in 1914, she sets out to discover their story and figure out why postmortem photography haunts her. “Lightning Flowers” is a thoughtful and moving meditation on what it means to remember the dead and confront one’s own mortality.
Handling Shit and Finding Love
MEMOIR | BETINA ENTZMINGER
“The Beak in the Heart: True Tales of Misfit Southern Women,” is a collection of dramatic portraits of the author’s “misfit” female ancestors and a candid, intimate memoir about family secrets and breaking free of the narrow confines of being a “proper” southern woman. In this excerpt, Betina Entzminger tells the story of two of her “misfit” aunts who had the strength to handle the blows dealt to them by adversity, disappointment, and heartache in the South of the 1950s. This is a touching story about finding love, freedom, and fortitude.
Never miss an episode. Subscribe on any of these platforms.
Rivercliff Books & Media.