After a 50+ year career as a counterculture, rock, and movie set photographer, I reinvented myself as a novelist and released “Lenswoman in Love”– a novel of the 1960s & ‘70s in 2025 at age 78 – a reimagining my early career as a romance. And to my surprise, I discovered that I am not the only woman in retirement who has become a writer. I initiated a weekly Zoom chat for “Vintage” authors, all women over 70, and discovered fascinating, feisty ladies who have drawn on their wealth of experience to create wonderful books.
Among them are:
Roselyn Teukolsky, who after a lifetime of teaching computer science to devious teenagers (and writing the Barron’s prep book on computer science), has written two edge-of-your-seat thrillers I could not put down, with a computer genius heroine, “A Reluctant Spy” and “The Fourth Woman”
Dorothea Buckingham, a librarian in Hawaii and WWII historian, who released her first novel “Code Name Rascal” about four women in Hawaii who worked for the government to help win the war.
Karen Lee Cohen, who after a career as a TV producer, has written a non-fiction self-help book Let’s Be Peace and started a movement to make the world a better place, one person at a time.
Carol J Amato, who after creating innumerable textbooks and guides to help writers, has two middle grade children’s books- “The Phantom Hunter Series – the Lost Treasure of the Golden Sun and The Secret of Blackhurst Manor.”
As well as:
Coleen Fleidner’s- “Fascinating True Tales from Old California”
Alexis Krasilovsy’s poetry book- “Watermelon Linguistics” and children’s book- “Tuki the Tiger”
DM Cross- Romatasy- “A Long Way from Home’
MJ Frause-Chivers- Russian Menonite Chronicles “Katerina’s Dark Shadow” and “Katerina’s Dark Journey”
Pauline Brooks’ American immigrant saga “Not Just a Homemaker”
…and many working on their first books.
Our group is a terrific support for each other, sharing our expertise in various aspects of writing, editing, publishing, and marketing, and cheering each other on, commiserating with setbacks, and sharing each other’s writing and personal journeys. It has provided a sense of community and created new friendships. The group is overflowing with talent from women living all over the USA and Canada, writing in every imaginable genre – historical fiction, romance, mystery/suspense, children’s and middle school adventures, self-help and spirituality, and more, proving it’s never too late to reinvent yourself!
This was written by our contributing writer, Kim Gottlieb-Walker.
Images provided by: Kim Gottlieb-Walker
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