I posed the question in my last blog. I’m closer to 80 than to 70 now so what makes me think I can go on writing something people will actually read?  Don’t those creative juices dry up when you get older?

Maybe not.

In 1932 Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote Little House in the Big Woods, the first in her beloved Little House series. She was 65 years old.

In 1968 retired high school teacher Frank McCourt wrote Angela’s Ashes. It was the first novel for this 66-year-old, and he won a Pulitzer Prize for his efforts.

Similarly, Katherine Anne Porter published her novel, Ship of Fools, at age 72, and Norman Maclean wrote A River Runs Through It at 74. This semi-biographical account of a fly-fishing family in Montana became a classic, and Maclean’s prose is still a favorite with me (by the way, the Robert Redford movie wasn’t too bad either).

So I don’t hope to match an Ingalls or a Maclean (not worthy to untie their sandals), but their successes let us older writers know creativity doesn’t have a set expiration date. I’m counting on it with this one. I’m truly counting on it.

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Tomorrow I’ll post the photo and link of the new book on FB for you to Like and Share with others. And if you’re going to buy an e-book at the discounted price or send a copy to a friend or two, now is the best time. Amazon’s algorithm promotes those books who get a lot of initial sales.