It's Never Too Late

Following up somewhat on the Tips and Tricks for Writers I posted yesterday, here's a little something for folks who might be a little discouraged with how their writing career is going. Myrrha Stanford-Smith, an 82-year-old teacher and theatre director and grandmother, recently had her first published novel, part of a a deal with publisher Honno for a trilogy based on her swashbuckling Elizabethan hero Nick Talbot. Her response was that she was ''gobsmacked. I had to put the phone down and ring them back as I was so taken aback by the whole thing."

Liam Dwyer received a laptop on his 80th birthday from his three sons. Now 87, he has five mystery novels to his name and another due out this fall. The books are set in Muskoka, Ontario, and all feature OPP homicide investigator Ian Murdoch of Gravenhurst. With no publicity and no distribution outside Muskoka (except to Toronto's Sleuth of Baker Street bookstore), the first book in the series sold more than 4,000 copies. 

So it really is never too late, as long as you're still breathing. Stay thirsty, my friends.