Meet Stacy Maxwell, author of Consummate Connecticut: Day Trips with Panache

If you would like to know more about Windsor (CT's "First MotherTown"), read the first chapter in Consummate Connecticut.
Warning: Our society is doomed to become one mammoth conglomerate department store/fast food chain. Never in the 13 years that Stacy Lytwyn Maxwell worked as a travel writer did she dream that defending mom and pop shops would become one of her missions in life. Today, however, the mostly lifelong Connecticut resident describes herself as "a conserver of independently owned and non-profit businesses."

"It used to be that when you crossed a town or state line, each new place had their own unique businesses and dynamic landscape built by freethinking individuals. I suddenly realized that our businesses and restaurants were becoming one carbon copy throughout America. It's boring. It's stagnant. The bottom line is that landlords sellout to the so-called big guys and gals, but who pays the ultimate price?"

So, what's a writer to do? Lytwyn Maxwell says that when she started writing Consummate Connecticut: Day Trips with Panache (Cat Tales Press, 2006, www.cattalespress.com), she gravitated towards spotlighting the privately owned and non-profit businesses. Nearly every attraction in Consummate Connecticut, which also highlights accommodations and restaurants in 48 cities, towns and villages throughout the state, is a celebration of entrepreneurship and private business.

"I want my book to motivate people to get out of living in one uniform box. I want to tell college kids that there are choices beyond the national brands."

"Over the course of one decade, I have come to realize what a constant struggle it has become for small entrepreneurs and people involved in running non-profit attractions."

Her greatest apprehension is that small businesses and not-for-profit companies are being squeezed out by mega-stores and other land developments. When you go into a restaurant, if the owner is on the premises, chances are-you're going to have a great meal and service."

"I want to spotlight some of these small businesses and attractions. If people frequent these places, than odds are, they will thrive. And in Connecticut, where we can drive anywhere within two hours, there's no excuse not to check out the local pleasures that make us proud!