Single Woman of a Certain Age: Romantic Escapades, Shifting Shapes... and Serene Independence by Jane Ganahl

Buy this book! Support starving spinsters! ;)

$14.95

Paperback

Hi everyone and sorry for the long-delayed entry. I've been busy trying to make a living - not the easiest thing for a freelancer in this economy! But now I must pause to boast about a Very Cool Development: the re-release of an anthology I edited in 2005 called Single Woman of a Certain Age: Romantic Escapades, Shifting Shapes... and Serene Independence. It came out first in hardcover via Inner Ocean publishing; some of their titles were purchased by New World Library - home of Eckhart Tolle, Deepak Chopra, Joseph Campbell... and me! This is NOT company I ever thought I'd keep, but I'm willing to go with it. ;) 

Anyway, here's the blurbage. Please see events on my events page and come out for a reading!

Single Woman of a Certain Age: Romantic Escapades, Shifting Shapes... and Serene Independence

Edited by Jane Ganahl

New World Library (5/09)

“This collection of essays shows that writers know plenty about love: how it works, when it works, when it doesn’t, and why it’s not always the be-all and end-all of a woman’s emotional life. Growing older solo is fraught with challenges -- but also with opportunities.”

—Hartford Courant

This timely book assembles a chorus of sophisticated, edgy, and humorous voices on the topic of being unmarried in one’s prime. Far from being out to pasture, these writers zestily take on the challenges and enjoy the rewards of growing older as a single woman: sex (or not), occasional loneliness, single motherhood, second careers, menopause, critter comforts, and more. Joyce Maynard (“fifteen years divorced and pushing fifty with a short stick”) tries online dating, Kathi Kamen Goldmark embraces her newly empty nest, Wendy Merrill dumps a younger lover to save her self-esteem, Diane Mapes prefers the joys of aunthood over motherhood, Sunny Singh enjoys her unmarried status so much she dreads meeting the perfect man, Ms. Gonick dates a sexy (if uneducated) cowboy, and Rachel Toor finally finds the perfect companion—and he has four legs.

"A cool mom is one things, but a red-hot mama is utterly disturbing." - from "Unmarried... with Children" by Ellie Slott Fisher, author of Mom, There's a Man in Your Kitchen and He's Wearing Your Robe

"The good part of having a checkered past is that when you're older, if you've paid attention, you're really good at checkers." - from "Never Again," by Merrill Markoe, five time Emmy Award-winning comedy writer

"A secret joy of traveling alone is that occasionally you find yourself spending time with people you would not otherwise get to know. They were older than I was, religious, married, and fairly conventional. But we had a memorable evening." - from "A Secret Joy" by Susan Griffin, author of The Book of the Courtesans

"Swaying to a sultry Aaliyah tune, I gaze upon my full-length naked body. Wow. There is more of me than I remember." - from "Nude Awakening" by Cameron Tuttle, author of the Bad Girl's Guides

"I could only shudder at the thought of how few romantic prospects awaited a single middle-aged black woman in a town of a little over two thousand." - from "Straight Outta Marin" by April Sinclair, author of Coffee Will Make You Black

"Prudence's fur was soft as baby powder, talcy white. She became my life that last semester. My biggest love affair in college was with someone who weighed less than a Snickers bar." - from "Heavy Petting" by Rachel Toor, author of The Pig and I

"Most of us are so dedicated to the idea of commitment -- the longer the term the better -- that the idea of having a good time never gets a chance to bloom." - from "Cutting Loose" by Jane Juska, author of A Round-Heeled Woman

Other contributors include Kim Addonizio, Isadora Alman, Judy Blunt, Anne Buelteman, Liz Byrski, Ronnie Caplane, Dakota Cassidy, Laura Fraser, Lynn Freed, Spike Gillespie, Debra Ginsberg, Sam Horn, Patti Lawson, Susan Maushart and Irene Sherlock.