The whole situation is funny but also aggravating because it’s so random. We appealed this decision within the Amazon system and lost. And just how do you argue with the thousand-pound gorilla in your publishing office?
Well, one way is YOU, dear reader. If you have friends, bookclubs, social groups, etc., who would find the Bastard interesting please do let them know about it.
Meanwhile, in happier news, my co-author Steeviejane Parks and I are making great progress on our yet-to-be-titled workbook for women on the verge of retirement. Lots of great conversations about what we know now that we didn’t know five years ago, and lots of fascinating background reading about everything from money
to mortality to sex. We’ve developed our thinking about unearthing our passions after midlife. We even have a partial draft of the book. I’m excited about the possibilities.
And with the newly announced deadline of March 30 for US submissions to The Writers’ Lab, I will focus in March on revising the script version of Brilliant Charming Bastard for submission. The first version of the screenplay was the first time I wrote down the Bastard
story; now that the novel is published, I’ll go back and strengthen the script with ideas developed for the novel. Should be fun and very timely, as the focus on older women’s lives keeps ramping up.
If you’re busy writing (and I hope you are!), another fully funded writing retreat you should know about is sponsored by Looking Glass Arts. Both individuals and small groups of writers over the age of 45 are invited to submit for this retreat, which also has a deadline at the end of March. Great to see more programs for mature writers.
All this focus on writing, publishing, and publicity has been great, but I’m also feeling the urge to get back to workshopping with other writers. There’s been a lot of discussion lately about the romance genre and how it has opened up to lots of different scenarios: happy for now, happy with more than one, and not just the classic focus on happily ever after with the obligatory church wedding. As those scenarios expand, so does the age range for characters. In other words, it’s a great time for Women of a Certain Age to write and publish romance. And who better to benefit from this new phase than Thee & Me?
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