I flunked Retirement

In the flurry of publishing my first novel, I hired a publicist for a whirlwind ten days in Houston where I had 8 speaking engagements lined up due to my friends and family living in Texas.

I would not do that again and recommend that others save their money. However, it was an interesting experience because there were opportunities I’d never have explored like writing articles from my former life.

At the suggestions of the publicist, I wrote a couple of nonfiction pieces for her to use in attempts to gain the attention of the media. Since this writing gig is my fourth career, one or the nonfiction pieces was on retirement. And the fact that I had never been interested in it.

I was surprised at the times it was picked up by the media.

Last Thursday night while still in Houston, I did my first live interview.

Although I winced at some of the ‘wells’ and the ‘ums’ in the beginning, not all bad for the first in a very long time. I think these talks are sort of like riding a bike; despite the fact that my bike riding skills were never totally awesome, I know I’ll get better at quickly formulating a reply without the need of the non-words.

The host of the show Health, Wealth and Wisdom could not have been more gracious despite a few times when it sounded as if I had stopped talking, taking too long to formulate my next comment.

He could have become annoyed but did not. Here is the link should you wish to download and listen: http://seniorvoiceamerica.com/2014/10/09/flunk-retirement-elder-fraud-runs-rampant/