Interview with a writerWritten by Liana Metal
How and when did you get started as a writer? I always wrote as a child – letters to friends and poems, but never thought of myself as a writer until receiving an A on an essay in college. I’m a late bloomer and didn’t become a newspaper reporter until almost age 40. How do you usually find your ideas? Truthfully, I always had trouble coming up with “fresh ideas” sought by magazine editors. My first book, Catskills Alive, was conceived during a trip to Catskills with my husband. We stayed at an inn near Delaware River and I could not get over its beauty and lack of tourism. I thought “What is wrong with this picture?” and decided to write a guidebook to whole region. That was my first "fresh idea." Did you ever get any rejections? If yes, how did you react to them? Funny question. What author has not gotten rejections - enough to paper walls? In early days, it really hurt because I always took it personally. Since doing newsletter and reading how some authors cope with rejection by shrugging it off, I’ve gotten better about it. If I really believe in my project, I’ll never give up. Tell us about your books. What was your first one? Catskills Alive was published in 2000 and second edition in 2003. Long Island Alive came out in 2003. Both were published by Hunter Publishing. Book Marketing from A-Z was published in March 2005.
| | Mid-Life Perception: It’s Your View That CountsWritten by Craig Nathanson
This is third in a ten-part series exploring “Ten P” model developed by Craig Nathanson, The Vocational Coach, to help mid-life adults discover and do what they love. When Murray and Heather Rand of Canada sold their St. Thomas, Ontario, home and moved permanently aboard their sailboat, lots of people – including their children – thought they were crazy. The fact that they’d never sailed before, prior to buying 16-foot craft that fueled their adventure, didn’t bother them a bit. Murray and Heather loved sailing. They decided that sailing mattered most. So after several intensive sailing lessons, they were on their way. They agreed: If it’s your dream, go sooner rather than later. Life can change at drop of a hat, they thought, and life was too precious to be wasting precious time heeding other people’s disapproval. When former software engineer Bonnie Vining was told by her boss to stop smiling so much at work because it was a sign of weakness, she decided that it was definitely time to leave her job and follow her dream. Bonnie wanted to own her own coffee shop, where folks could gather and enjoy each other’s company and, without being self-conscious, smile as much as they liked. Like Murray and Heather’s family and friends, Bonnie’s co-workers thought Bonnie was being too much of a dreamer. But she didn’t let naysayers stop her. Today people can visit Bonnie in Tucson, Arizona, serving up a cup of Joe at her own place, Javalina’s Coffee and Friends. And then there’s Japanese national Tamah Nakamura, who reached mid-life with an established position as a tenured university professor. Other people thought position was just right for Tamah. But there was only one problem: Tamah didn’t agree. She soon left walls of academe to follow her heart. Today, she teaches courses on how dance and music can help people honor and care for their bodies. Perspective and our work Throughout our working lives, we get “privilege” of hearing what other people think about us. Comments are often focused on our work and how we perform. Usually our performance evaluations are a reflection of “What have you done for me lately?” syndrome.
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