Jennifer Comeau's 'A Moon In All Things' at the ICC!

Jennifer Elwell Comeau’s debut novel, set in 1820s County Galway Ireland has been called, “atmospheric and beguiling” by Kirkus Reviews. Join author and singer-songwriter Jennifer for an engaging evening of reading, storytelling, travelogue and music. Hear the origin story of A Moon in All Things and be inspired by Jennifer’s own story of journeying from “Engineer to Enchantment.”

FROM ENGINEERING TO ENCHANTMENT: MAINE AUTHOR FINDS HER TRUE SELF WITH DEBUT NOVEL

Jennifer Elwell Comeau’s journey from corporate executive to published author is as compelling as the mystical stories she writes.

Following the dictates of family and societal programming, after high school she jumped into the world of engineering, earning a master’s and a bachelor’s degree. “I was the only woman engineer at the Chevy Tonawanda Forge plant of 400 people, and one of few women at all,” says Comeau. “I trained my high soprano voice down an octave, to a lower alto in order to sound more masculine, and I remember having a resting heart rate of 50 bpm due to the furious pace I kept in order to succeed.”

It worked. At 25, she was already supervising people twice her age and was able to buy her own house. At 30, she was hired by Carborundum as the Worldwide Quality Director, responsible for the quality departments of five US manufacturing plants, with dotted-line oversight into nine international plants. “We called Quality Control the ‘plant conscience,’ and I liked that role, taking a stand for what was right in terms of our products,” says Comeau. “Still, in that world, I felt I had to check my emotions at the door; I built thick armor around my tender heart just to survive.”

It took its toll. Daily, Comeau popped a half-dozen extra strength Excedrin for her stress headaches and nightly, numbed herself with wine. After decades working as an executive in the automotive industry and information systems, and with encouragement from her brother, she decided to make a change. A big change.

“I was working so hard and had achieved a lot in my life. But something was missing,” Comeau shares. “That’s when my brother reminded me of my childhood–I had been a dreamy, bookish kid, playing in ponds, writing poems, having picnics under willow trees. Hearing his words, at that moment, I realized I had lost myself.”

With no outside qualifications to give her permission to sing or write, Comeau began peeling back layers of programming to remember something her spiritual teacher once said, “When a soul aligns with its purpose, the heart carries superlative qualifications.”

She taught herself guitar and began to write songs, producing two albums of original music. A Kind of Grace, whose lyrics, “I have a mission. It’s just to listen to the wisdom that dwells in here,” was a finalist in Maine’s songwriting competition.

And listen she did.

Returning to her love of the natural world, Comeau became a certified forest therapy guide. Then one night, ten years ago, she dreamt of a woman on the cliffs of Galway Bay, Ireland, the magical home of her ancestors. “A story wanted to be written to honor my ancestors and their original wisdom ways, which included an intimate inter-connection with nature,” says Comeau.

She began to write, honing her craft through workshops. A story unfolded, about a young woman who is summoned by The Otherworld to heed her calling and go against societal dictates to become a healer of her village and thus herself. Not unlike what Comeau had experienced.

For practical reasons, Comeau had continued working as a consultant. But the emotional chasm between her writing life and her consulting life finally necessitated a courageous separation. In March 2015 she took what her husband called a “99% pay cut” to follow her dream.

She booked a 4-week solo trip to Ireland absorbing the landscape of her ancestors and continued research she had started at home working with Irish History Professor, Niall Ó Cíosáin of Galway University.

For Comeau, original songs came through while writing. “The Irish word for music is Ceol, which literally means, ‘lifeblood.’ I felt I couldn’t do justice to a story set in the lush, mythical lands of Ireland without weaving in music.”

From that research came A Moon in All Things, Comeau’s debut historical fantasy novel. Kirkus Reviews describes A Moon in All Things as “atmospheric and beguiling,” and Booklife Prize calls it, “a beautifully crafted historical fantasy infused with lyricism and Celtic magic.”

In addition to her debut novel, Comeau has authored the five-starred children’s book, “The Inside of ME,” about the well-being that happens on the inside when we go outside. Nine special, natural places in Maine are rendered on the pages by Maine illustrator, Suzi Linden. (12 Willows Press, 2024). Her essays are featured in four anthologies, including, “A Dangerous New World: Maine Voices on the Climate Crisis.” (Littoral Books, 2019)

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