 It’s been less than a month since I returned from a cruise to New
Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands and already, I am looking forward to another one. What was so good about the cruise? Well, if you look at it from my protagonist’s, Mia Ferrari, point of view, it was the cute, young officers.
You can’t blame Mia, older-woman and wannabe investigator, seeing as she likes Playing with the bad boys, right? (Also the name of her first mystery adventure). Mia likes them young and
good looking (even if they’re gay!), and on a cruise of over 1700 passengers and around 700 crew, one is bound to run into some young flesh ;) And she did.
 But what was the real reason for going on this cruise? Namely,
relaxation and to plan my next murder mystery, which will take place on the high seas and will feature Mia, her friends, and a host of other characters.
I will be starting to write Mia Ferrari’s next mystery adventure Murder on the South Pacific in the next few weeks and hope to release it toward the end of 2013.
You can expect a number of murders, spicy sex and quite a few suspects. Mia is going to be under pressure to solve these murders in a short time span, seeing as the cruise is not a long one and she must solve the murders before the ship arrives at its destination. So the pressure is on.
This is why Mia’s creator, little me, is in need of another cruise in order to relax :)
While you are waiting for Mia’s third mystery to be released, why not grab a copy of her first two adventures? Click HERE to have a look at where you can buy them.
So, see you onboard soon and bon voyage!
That’s right, fictional friendship did turn to murder—but it’s fictitious, so that’s a relief.
You’re probably wondering what in heaven’s name I’m talking about. Let me explain: some time ago, I read a couple of humorous fiction novels by British author, Carol E. Wyer. I met Carol when I used to run a blog interviewing authors on their respective work, and we kept in touch since. This is what I call a cyber-friendship.  British author, Carol E. Wyer |  Aussie author, Sylvia Massara | In her novels, Carol developed a character who followed the blog of her main protagonist, Amanda Wilson. The blog follower went by the name of SexyFitChick, and she was from Australia. SexyFitChick became a good online friend of Amanda Wilson, Carol’s main character in her two novels, Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines and Surfing in Stilettos.
Carol later told me that SexyFitChick reminded her of me, although I don’t know about the “fit” part *laughter and wink*, but I do agree about the “sexy” bit :D
Over the next couple of years, Carol and I maintained our cyber-friendship, and I really enjoyed reading about the escapades of Amanda Wilson. So much so, that when my own protagonist, smartarse, older chick, super-sleuth, Mia Ferrari, was published in her second adventure, The Gay Mardi Gras Murders, I decided to bring Amanda Wilson to the land down under for a visit with Mia.
In the story, Amanda (or Mandy) is suffering from “grumpy-hubby syndrome” and so she runs off to Sydney to visit with best online friend, Mia Ferrari and catch the world-famous gay mardi gras at the same time.  Mia Ferrari's 2nd mystery adventure |  1st Mia Ferrari mystery |  Amanda Wilson's 1st adventure |  Mandy's 2nd | As it turns out, not only does Mandy become part of an investigation into several murders, one of which involves a transsexual with a very valuable diamond that carries a so-called curse, but she is thrown into Mia’s world—a world of luxury international hotels, Ferrari cars, insidious characters, younger men, a bunch of bitchy drag queens, drop-dead gorgeous gay boys, and a lot more. To make matters worse and really test the friendship between the two protagonists, Mandy develops a crush on Mia’s archenemy, the very good looking Detective Sergeant Phil Smythe.
I won’t go on with the plot and spoil it for you, but I want to point out that out of a cyber-friendship between two authors who are continents apart was born the fictional friendship of Amanda Wilson and Mia Ferrari. This led to much laughter, the challenge of overcoming rivalry between two good friends, sexual fantasies of playing with some bad boys, and even converting some sexy gay boys, and finally, solving a number of murders before more bodies piled up.
The message in this particular novel is that through all the obstacles of life, friendship is the most important thing there is—sometimes, friendship is stronger than love, as Mia Ferrari learns.
So how’s that for the power of a fictional friendship that was born in the minds of two authors who are online friends? Personally, I think this takes friendship to a whole new level.
 Parade night at Gay Mardi Gras
 Can you turn one short segment from your book into an inspiring
story? If so, theTales2Inspire™ "Authors Helping Authors" project/contest might be just the ticket for you.
Lois W. Stern, (author of (Sex, Lies and Cosmetic Surgery & Tick Tock, Stop the Clock ~ Getting Pretty on Your Lunch Hour) has created this FREE “Authors Helping Authors” project/contest designed to give winners and finalists great PR exposure.
Last year, author Pauline Hager entered her story, ‘Smile Power’, based on both her non-fiction book, Memoirs of an American Housewife in Japan. and other of her travel experiences. Author Susan C. Haley entered ‘Miracle’, the story of a newborn calf she helped deliver under dire circumstances, taken from her published fiction book, Rainy Day People.
NOTE:
Although Rainy Day People is a work of fiction, the story of Miracle is true, coming from one of Susan’s actually experiences. Although all stories entered into theTales2Inspire™ contest must be non-fiction, like Susan, most authors of fiction works pull some of their content from real life experiences. Very possibly, you can do that too.
What’s in it for you?
- Winner and finalist stories published in an anthology of inspiring tales
- Your name listed as the author of your story
- Your photo, mini bio and URL link of your choice included at the end of your story
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- Opportunity for blog radio interview (posted on the T2I website)
- Opportunity for cable TV appearance
Visit http://www.tales2inspire.com for full details. Be sure to check out the Author Tales screen to see more of what's in it for you!
DEADLINE DATE EXTENSION DUE TO HURRICANE SANDY IS NOW FEBRUARY 4, 2013
In the modern world, relationships are doomed from the start. Why do I say this? Well, let’s see:
Generally speaking, (and I mean “generally”. So I do agree that there exist some rare cases of true love); but generally, modern relationships are set up to be doomed from the outset. They are like so many other expendable things out there, cheap clothes, cheap mobile phones and ballpoint pens. What
happens when any of these don’t fit or don’t work anymore? We throw them out and buy another one; and in the case of ballpoint pens, we sometimes steal one from someone else’s supply—this is akin to cheating with someone else’s partner.
I always ask myself what makes so many people behave in this way. Whatever happened to the days of “for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; till death us do part”? Gone with the wind, I say, just like Margaret Mitchell’s saga of the old South! (Um, I don’t mean her book, but the old South).  So going back to what makes so many people behave in this way: in the beginning, there were inter-office romances. Imagine how many people bumped hips after WWII when women started to make up a large number of the workforce; and the bumping didn’t necessarily take place with their own partner—so we have a case of the stolen or borrowed ballpoint pen syndrome. This happened in the 50s, when people still stayed in a significant relationship, but they still went around borrowing one or more ballpoint pens.
 Then, with the 60s, came “free love”, and as Cole Porter’s song rightly stated: “Anything Goes”. This was when the divorce rate started to climb the charts from the conservative 40s and 50s.
 In the 70s and 80s, the rate kept increasing steadily, and this was the era of bars, discos and nightclubs. However, not all enjoyed hanging around places like these to meet a new person, so in the 90s, some people turned to dating agencies. These agencies charged huge sums of money to match-make you with someone, and their success was short-lived as not many people had that sort of money to pay for the service, besides, some of these people might only have been out for a good time and not to snare a new life partner; so why waste good money, right? The last resort (or poor alternative) was to place an ad in the lonely-hearts column.
 With the advent of the “noughties”, or should I say “naughties”,
an explosion in technology took place and online dating was born. This is when “Anything Goes” was given new meaning in the world of relationships, and the divorce rate skyrocketed all the way out of this galaxy and onto the next.
Suddenly men and women were exposed to a cacophony of love options, and more of them started to suffer from the grass-is-always-greener-on-the-other-side syndrome. This is when relationships started to break down more easily, and finally became truly expendable.
Why? Because if the one you were in was no longer to your liking, you could always go shopping for another one on the internet—and the real bonus was that if you were still in a relationship, the internet gave you enough anonymity so you could cheat on your partner/spouse; a bit like having your cake and eating it too.
Online dating has many menus these days: friendship, casual dating, long-term relationships, marriage, hot and heavy, gay, bi-sexual, and once again... “Anything Goes”.
The beauty in all this is that no one has to work at a relationship ever again unless they want to. So if you’re wife gets past the age of 40, fine, dump her and get yourself a young 20-something to play with.
If your husband is getting a beer-belly, no problem, you can find yourself someone else to shag.
If you’re a woman past the age of 40—and we are deemed as untouchables in our modern day society (I’m serious!)—just set up a profile on any online dating site, and before you even get a chance to post a photo to your profile, at least 90% of the hits you receive will be from males 25 years old and under who simply want to shag you. However, if you’re looking for anything other than a shag, forget it! After 40, a woman has only two options: 1. Go for the ballpoint syndrome and steal someone else’s husband. 2. Find yourself an old codger of 70 or 80, but don’t be misled; the codger still wants a younger woman, but seeing as he won’t be able to get one unless he’s richer than Bill Gates, he’ll settle for a woman within your age group (very sad indeed).
But we were talking about options through online dating, and not about older women, right? So we’re back to “Anything Goes”. Boy, did Cole Porter get it right or what!
The sad thing is that the values of yesteryear no longer apply today except in wedding vows that are still stupidly taken by so many, only to end in disaster a few years later.
 In conclusion, I truly believe that relationships are expendable, and that the world of the internet has destroyed the values we used to hold dear to our hearts. We no longer have to try to work things out or be tolerant or understanding. Today, we tend to take the approach that if a relationship no longer fits, we’ll throw it away and get a new one, just like a mobile phone or a pen or a set of clothes.
The bad news is this: unlike the items I just mentioned, the people you “buy” on the net still have the mentality that if things don’t work out, they can always get another one, and another one, and another one. Starting to get the picture?
So no, it’s not like replacing a cheap mobile with an expensive, quality one; these days the people we meet, especially those we meet through the internet dating sites, are always going to be looking for the bigger, better, brighter relationship; and they don’t give a fig if the one you have with them doesn’t work out because there is always another, and another, and another....
Now, I hope you really got the picture.
 Good God, so many wrinkles! As I started to move into "middle age", I went into total shock. Okay, hold on, I went into shock when I turned 30, so you can imagine how I felt when I turned ... well, let's just say I got older ;)
What got me through the beginning of middle age was love – ill advised as this was! At the time, however, I thought I had met my life’s partner, and ageing didn’t seem such a big deal as I consoled myself with the thought that at least I would be ageing alongside of him “until death us do part”. WRONG! After a few years, he developed a bad case of middle age and ran off with the proverbial Porsche and a slightly younger woman (only slightly, mind).
So here I was, dumped well into full adulthood and with old age looming closer and closer (by old age, I mean like 100 years, so I'm still a long way off [sigh of relief]). Suddenly, I obsessively started to look in the mirror every few hours to see if I was ageing; I tried to sell my soul to the Devil if he would keep me young, just like Dorian Gray, but that didn’t work. I considered plastic surgery, but I’m more afraid of surgery than I am of ageing; I set up a profile on some internet dating sites and noticed that the less years I put on my profile, the more men pursued me. When I finally decided to put in my real age, however, I found that the well was suddenly and irrevocably dry except for the odd old-timer with a smoke hanging out of his mouth and a beer belly bulging out of the waistband of his pants. Mind you, I still get 20-somethings who are after sex with an older woman. I guess that’s something to fan my ego, but it’s not for me.
So what alternative do I have for meeting eligible men in my “twilight” years? None, really. The good-looking 50-somethings such as George Clooney are dating girls in their late 20s and 30s. Men in their 30s are dating even younger girls or someone near their own age—and they will only go with an older woman just for a fling. I asked myself, how can an older and intelligent woman win? The answer is: she can’t.
 This is more my look :-) In desperation, I enrolled myself in a short course at the local university. The course is called “Conscious ageing: Creating meaning and purpose
in the second half of life (A film study)”. Well, I thought, this is kind of
creative as they involve the medium of film—probably in order to soften the blow! *grin*
The course explores questions such as “What I want to be now that I’m grown up?” Grown up? Pluuuuiiiissseeeeee! I’m already over the hill, and I can answer this question immediately: I WANT TO BE YOUNG!!!! Other questions they explore are: What gives my life meaning? (Very difficult to answer this one without coming across as being absolutely superficial—so let’s just say health, good looks and loads of money. lol). More questions: What brings me joy? When am I most alive? (Please refer to previous response in this paragraph).
 Avoid getting a big belly! Well, despite all this, I decided to keep an open mind, at least for the first class, and I was given a book entitled “From Age-ing to Sage-ing” A Profound New Vision of Growing Older. Okay, I started reading the book, and the general gist of it is that if we develop our wisdom and use it to contribute to society, then we will live an enriched older age. We will become like a “sage” rather than just be be old and invisible to the general population.
While all this sounds very profound and exciting by way of becoming a kind of wise old woman or man, it still doesn’t take away the sting
of having flabby skin and declining health. It’s all well and good to be the "village elder”when you are in good health, and everyone reveres you; and this might work in a tribal society. But when it comes to the harsh reality of today’s modern world with its big and fast cities, faster cars, and where youth is worshipped and rammed down our throats by the media, I have to ask what kind of comfort or even recognition will we derive from becoming Buddhas (hopefully minus the big belly).
 From the movie "Ladies in Lavender" I noticed on the course curriculum that one of the films we’re going to watch is “Ladies in Lavender”. If you haven’t seen this movie, I won’t spoil it for you; but the title should give you a hint. Lavender? Hmm! I’ve seen this movie before, and though absolutely beautiful, you had better arm yourself with a huge box of tissues because you are going to need it when you see one of the main characters reliving her lost youth by foolishly falling for a very young man.
One of the other movies is the Swedish film “Wild Strawberries” directed by Ingmar Bergman. This one’s considered a bit of a classic as it was filmed in the 50’s, a time when aging was not really questioned or given as much emphasis as it is today. We watched this movie in the first class. The story retraces the life of an old man as he revises his whole life when it dawns on him that he’s now old, alone, and could die at any time. D-E-P-R-E-S-S-I-N-G! So have your valiums handy for this one. The other two movies are “About Schmidt”, with Jack Nicholson and “Venus”, with Peter O’Toole. I don’t even want to know about those two just yet, so I will wait till I watch them.
My take on this whole aging business is this: no matter how you portray it, package it, and sell it; when you’re bits start to sag and no one wants to know you, no amount of handing out wisdom and sound advice is going to save you. Perhaps the best thing is to stop throwing pearls before swine and use
the wisdom to save yourself.
 We have an expression in Australia that we sometimes use when we're feeling rather overwhelmed; and when I finished reading a certain article about the chances of women finding men after a certain age, I was left trembling with apprehension. As I clutched the newspaper to my breast and shakily boarded the train on the way home from work the other day, I said to myself: "How much can a koala bear?"
On the train, I re-read the by now crumpled paper so I could take things in once more, this time sitting down. Yes, I did get a seat on the train! A flashback to the movie Sleepless in Seattle brought back the comment made to the Meg Ryan character that "A woman has a much higher chance of being killed in a terrorist attack than get married after the age of forty."
Well, I have news for you, sisters! The age has dropped dramatically since they filmed that movie. This explains my downing a valium when I arrived home and making myself a huge bowl of pasta with pesto (my favourite comfort food) so I could get over the shock of what I had learned.
The following comes from a regular column in the mX newspaper (courtesy of City Rail) written by Emma Merkas. WARNING: READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL!!!
 Never mind about 40, bloody hell! They are now saying that if we don't land a man by 29 we're done for? What are the freakin' chances for us to do that, especially for those older chicks past a certain age? As we fondly say in Australia: "Buckleys and none". This is how much of a chance we have of landing a man past the age of 29. So our mission is not just impossible; it's f...ng IMPOSSIBLE!
Therefore, with heartfelt sympathy and condolences to my older, wiser, and sometimes dumped sisters out there, bring on the terrorists! In fact, I think we have a much better chance of capturing a whole terrorist organisation and bringing them to justice while winning millions on Lotto three times in a row, and having George Clooney and Clint Eastwood in a bidding war for the film option to one of our books (this last one is for my literary sisters), than landing a man who is decent, faithful, loving and considerate. Oh, fudge! Forget that last bit, and simply make it ANY man!
Okay, I'm off to find a mining town now :-)
 Well, at least for me, one of my greatest fears is the dreaded review, especially when I write in a new genre. Being a multi-genre author, I have always stuck to either contemporary fiction or chick lit. However, I must confess that I've always had a weakness for the smart-talking, wiseass type of characters I watch in film noir movies. You know what I mean, the down and out detective or investigative reporter, going great guns against all odds to dig up the truth. Meanwhile, he (yes, it's usually a "he") is battling with either a drinking problem, or maybe he smokes too much, or he just cannot have that sexy dame he finds wildly attractive and who is driving him to distraction.
My love of these types of movies have led me to write the first of a modern and contemporary mystery/suspense series with a female protagonist. Right from the start of the story she's got a chip on her shoulder about men, as she has been dumped by a cheating husband; she's got the hots for a younger man (she's 48 years old, by the way); she dislikes cops because she was prevented from joining the force by none other than a man; she's assertive, sassy and a real smartass with an attitude. She's very much like a film noir hero. But I'm digressing...
I set out to blog about an author's greatest fear -- the book review -- well, at least it is for me. What will people think of my work? Oh, the nerve-wracking drama of it all as I wait for my first review!
The interesting thing is that I don't fear so much the reviews from readers; although I want those readers to like my work and become fans of my novels. This aside, however, I just need to know that my peers think that my work is good enough. Yes, this is a sign of insecurity; plus, we are usually our own worst critics. Most actors suffer from it, even the really famous ones; artists feel the same way, and so do authors. Therefore, as soon as I finished writing my first mystery/suspense with my older female protagonist, Mia Ferrari, I sent a complimentary copy to one author who I consider to be at the top of her genre (mystery/suspense), and whom I esteem greatly. Her name, Darcia Helle. Then, while I waited for her to read my story, I prayed that she would like it.
I know Darcia is a straight shooter (pardon the pun) when it comes to reviews, and she won't gloss over them. If she likes the story, she'll say so and if not, she'll tell you why. So you can imagine my relief when she gave me a wonderful review. Okay, so I was happy that I wasn't shot down (again, pardon the pun) in flames by someone who has a lot more experience than me in this kind of genre.
The big surprise, however, came when I started to get reviews from other authors who purchased my work and read it. One of them was romance author, Gloria Antypowich, who posted a wonderful review of my novel on Amazon and on her blog. Then, there was Aussie author Charles Jackson, who also gave me a great review.
My novel has been purchased by many people, some of them leave reviews and some don't, but to me the biggest honour is when peers who read my work take the time from their busy schedules to leave a review. This says they truly liked my work, and nothing could be sweeter to me ... well, it would come close to that film option from George Clooney or Clint Eastwood! Hehehehehe.
So what's my point? Personally, as an author, I find it more scary to get reviewed by my peers than by the public in general. Don't ask me why, but there it is. That's not to say that the general public are not discerning enough when they review something they've read. Don't get me wrong; I've seen some fantastic reviews posted by readers of my and other authors' work. And whether the review is favourable or not, it doesn't matter. The feedback is what is important.
Still, it's little wonder that with all this anxiety about reviews authors are often driven to drink. LOL. Thankfully, I'm not a big drinker, so I am driven to cappuccinos and pizza, just like Mia Ferrari :-)
 Okay all, Mia Ferrari has a lot to celebrate this month. First and foremost, her creator, multi-genre novelist, Sylvia Massara, has unleashed her smartass, wise-talking, older-chick, wannabe investigator protagonist out into the digital world of publishing earlier this month. To celebrate, Sylvia then took over as Mia's alter-ego and went off to our country's capital city, Canberra, to catch the Renaissance Exhibition that is out here for a limited time, all the way from Bergamo, Italy.
Mia Ferrari and friend, Marie Giovenco, both super-cool chicks (pictured right) went off on a propeller plane (of all things) and flew from Sydney to Canberra, just a 30-minute flight, to go back to their roots and see some hot paintings by some hot Renaissance artists (not stolen hot, but hot as in fantastic). Poor Marie (pictured to the left of Sylvia) wasn't sure whether to call her friend Sylvia or Mia. So she made the best of it and didn't call her by name; she simply enjoyed the day!
 In raptures over paintings from Raphael, Botticelli, Perugino, and others, the girls loved this one, painted by Giovanni Bellini, circa 1488. It felt so wonderful standing in front of something that was so perfect and which was painted some 524 years ago. With her love of Renaissance, both Sylvia and Mia were in raptures; and so was friend, Marie :-)
 And here is another to wet your appetite; this one by Lorenzo Lotto. Ah, la bella Italia ... What more can I say? We're all about talent, pasta, Vespas and Ferraris!
The day was great. The month was great, as Mia Ferrari was unleashed, but what was even greater was that Sylvia's novel had her first review by none other that the queen of mystery/suspense from Florida, author Darcia Helle.
Sylvia was terrified when she asked Darcia to be brutal, and this is what Darcia came back with:
"Mia Ferrari is a fun and adventurous woman in her late forties. In this first book in the series, she leads us through a tangled web as she plods along in her quest for answers.
I really enjoyed Mia's character, as well as her supporting cast. At times this book made me laugh. Other times I'd find myself nodding in understanding. The pace is quick, the mystery a bit of a whodunit that allows readers to figure things out along with Mia."
I immediately wrote back and told Darcia that getting this kind of review from her, an author I highly esteem, is like getting a blessing from the Pope. LOL. Thank God, we're not living in the Renaissance period now though; for if I'd said something like this in the 1500s I would have been burned at the stake for being a heretic!
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 I was watching First Wives Club last night and I thought that women just can't win when it comes to the "unfair sex", as I call men. For those of you who haven't seen the movie, the storyline is about three 40-something women who've helped their husbands in various ways while they were married; be that to build their business, their career, or bear their children; and then, when life should be sweet, these bastard men dump their wives for younger women.
I really love the part Goldie Hawn plays--she's a 45-year-old actress, begging her plastic surgeon to inject her lips with botox. The doctor tells her that she looks fantastic as she is, and that she should be happy being her age. Goldie replies: "There are three ages in Hollywood: 'Babe', 'District Attorney' and 'Driving Miss Daisy'; now, fill them up!" (She orders the doctor to inject her lips). Later, she's so depressed because she was asked to play the role of a mother in a movie, instead of that of the young protagonist, that she's at a bar getting drunk and talking to Maurice, the bartender. She says to him in tears: "They want me to play Monique's mother, Maurice. Let me ask you, is this the face of a mother?" The bartender says no, at least not his mother's. Then Goldie goes on: "Angela Lansbury is Monique's mother; Shelley Winters is Monique's mother; Sean Connery is Monique's mother..." At this point, Maurice becomes concerned and tells her he'll get her some coffee. But Goldie declines and replies: "No, forget that, Sean Connery is Monique's boyfriend--he's 300 and still a stud!"
So what is the message here? That women in their prime (40s an 50s) are being dumped by men after they've been used up. After men have had children by their wives, or built their careers through them, or been introduced to all the right people and climbed their way to the top; suddenly, their wives become a drag. A man, even if he's as old as Sean Connery, has to be seen with a younger woman. Look at the film "Entrapment" where Sean Connery plays a master thief in his 60s, opposite a 30-something Catherine Zeta-Jones! I mean, come on! But this goes back to the days of old, so no wonder older modern women haven't got a chance.
Let's look at some old movies that have set us on the road to perdition. Sabrina--a 22-year-old Audrey Hepburn falling for a late 40s or early 50s Humphrey Bogart; Rebecca, a 20-something Joan Fontaine falling for a 40-something Laurence Olivier, and the list goes on!
But let us also look at real life in the old days of say, Jane Austen, and even hundreds of years prior to this. Young girls of 16, 17, and sometimes even younger, were married off to old guys in their 40s, 50s and beyond. Unfortunately, not much seems to have changed in this so-called age of liberated and independent women. We may not be forced to marry an old codger, but old codgers are still ending up with younger women--and they don't necessarily have to be rich or celebs either!
We may have won the right to vote, we may be breaking through the glass ceiling in the corporate world (though at a slow rate), but one thing we cannot change is this: as men grow older, they are called distinguished and no-one seems to bat an eyelid if he's sporting a 22-year-old on his arm. As women grow older, we are called hags, has-beens, used up, dried up, etc, etc, ad infinitum. And God forbid if we decided to go out with a younger man! Even Demi Moore lost her young beau (or so I heard).
Unfortunately, this is the way in modern society, and I don't think it's going to change any time soon. Moreover, it isn't only reflected in real life and films, but also in literature. Look at chick-lit. I've been reading hundreds of comments in blogs and in Facebook from women who say they cannot find a decent romance with a protagonist older than 30! (And even 30 is a bit too long in the tooth these days). But now we have "hen-lit", though not as widely known as chick-lit. Having said this, I believe that this genre is an emerging trend, as women from the baby-boomer period (those born between 1945-1964) are at the peak of their earning power, hence they tend to set the trends.
So, we might be dumped for a younger woman, though we helped our spouses to greater heights, (yes, behind every great man there is an even greater woman); we might be looked upon by our younger sisters as having passed the "use by" date; younger men might want to shag us for the experience (after all, our younger sisters couldn't hold a candle to our sexual expertise), but the young men will sooner or later flock to the babes, along with the older, middle-aged men who've dumped their wives. But I have to say that through all this, we remain strong and independent; we have clarity and focus, we know what we want and we are doing it for ourselves (as the song says). Whereas the men who've dumped us are still wading in their pathetic pool of self-pity, trying to find themselves. And you know what? Eventually, they'll be dumped by the "babes" because they won't be able to keep up. So what will you do when your ex comes knocking at your door to tell you he was wrong to leave you?
I know what I would do. As Diane Keaton tells her ex, who wanted to come back to her, in First Wives Club; she simply says: "drop dead."
 Okay, this is really spooky. It seems that every time I write a novel I am either on the way to fulfilling some kind of unknown or subconscious prophecy, or my life changes in such a way that I start to become like the main character in my novel.
For instance, when I wrote the romantic comedy, The Other Boyfriend (TOB), in 2010, there were certain elements in the story that at the time were mainly fiction but partly based on an old ex-boyfriend. But lo and behold, within months of publishing TOB my marriage broke up and I discovered in my ex-husband aspects of the lying, cheating and thieving person he turned out to be--and which he shared with one of the characters in TOB! Ironically, when I started my first draft of TOB, I hadn't even met my now ex-husband. Yes, I started working on TOB about a year before I met him!
Now, I have just finished writing Playing With The Bad Boys--A Mia Ferrari Mystery; and suddenly, I've started to become more like her: confident, sassy, doesn't suffer fools gladly, assertive, strong, and a whole lot more. Well, I've always possessed these personality traits, but now they have become a lot more pronounced. And what's really strange is that Mia Ferrari works for a hotel group and this is where she stumbles upon her mysteries. Now, only this week, I have started consulting for a hotel group! You see, my bread and butter comes from consulting (this is until I become famous like JKRowling. LOL), and in between my consulting I write.
One of my present clients is a wholesaler and I have been consulting to them for 20 months. But as soon as I finished writing Mia's first mystery I landed my second client, and sure enough, like Mia, I will be working within a group of hotels Australia-wide. So how's that for spooky? I only hope that when I start consulting this coming week I won't stumple upon a dead body, like Mia does in her first mystery!
I know that writers draw from their life experience, but it all starts to get a little weird when something I write about ends up happening in my life at a later stage. On the upside, this sets me to thinking that I should write about winning Lotto! Hmm. Food for thought.
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