Sandra Madden, Author

WRITER RETIREMENT

So I was considering retiring from writing. Something I do on a regular basis. But I’ve been writing all of my life in one form or another. At the beginning I thought writing would be a more realistic way of earning a living than my other choice, acting. (A person has only so many gifts, and none of mine have been corporate ladder types.)

At present, writing (anything) is not exceptionally lucrative for most creative writers. So, yes. At 83 years of age I thought it was time for me to do nothing except perhaps participating in a water aerobics class.

In a way I’ve come full circle. I grew up in a small-town surrounded by water. Mostly. An isthmus in New England. My new home is located in a small town surrounded by water. An island in Northeast Florida. I can walk on the beach, something I’ve loved to do since I was ten years old. I’d be very happy to do just that now with my dog Maxine…until I lose mobility.

Just days ago I was ready to do this, to retire. And then a colleague announced on FB that her friend had written and published two books at the age of 82. Well, that made me feel like a slacker. I’d only had one book published in ’22. And there were three books waiting in my to-be-finished-someday-pile folder. So. This is my official notice. For now. I’m not retiring until I finish at least two of the books from my tbfs folder. If you come across them in your favorite book store, please buy them and help make a whole more year of writing/working make sense for me.