Women's Divorce Fiction Archives

Sep 1st Middle Ageish by Shirley Goldberg

Give a warm welcome to Shirley Goldberg, author of Middle Ageish! Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Shirley and her Middle Ageish.

Tell us about yourself.

When I was in my teens all I wanted to do was travel. At nineteen, my best friend and I quit university and went to Ireland. We hitchhiked all around the country, me with a suitcase as big as a sheep. (I ended up sending most of the clothes I’d brought back home.) A sweet couple put us up in their barn for the night and served us a four-course breakfast in the morning. They would have given us a room, but my friend, Elise, wanted to sleep in a real barn. We hitchhiked all around Europe and ended up meeting a group of travelers at the Youth Hostel in Rome, continued on to Greece with them. We’re still in touch to this day.

Funny that I ended up marrying a Greek physics professor and living in Crete for eleven years.

Why did you choose the cover concept you did for Middle Ageish?

My novel is romantic women’s fiction. Since the title of the book, Middle Ageish, immediately tells the reader the characters are older, I wanted a cover that conveyed the idea of a rom com for the over-45 reader. A fun, beachy read, but with the real life problems that come with life experience.

Who would you recommend this book to and what should readers be aware of before reading it?

Here’s what a reader said about my book in an ARC review:

“In the beginning I thought, ‘I’m not sure this book is for me. I’ve been married for 50 years.’ I quickly changed my mind. I loved the book.”

My readers are probably in their forties and older, married or divorced and looking for a light read––although there’s some heartbreak and angst in the novel. The heat level is low and the door closes when it ratchets up.

Also, since the book centers around online dating it will appeal to anyone who’s dated online, or is curious about it. If you’d like to read more how-tos about dating, check out my website link below.

And, if you think Sunny’s dating escapades are exaggerated, ask your friends who’ve dated. They’ll give you the real scoop––just as it plays out in the story.

Relationships are what our books are all about, all different kinds of relationships. What interests you about how people find one another?

Everything about relationships fascinates me, from the meeting and greeting aspect to the reasons couples break up. The book grew out of my own dating experiences, but I needed time and perspective before I began writing. I worked my way gradually from taking notes after dates to transferring the notes to the computer in story form.

And I compared my experiences with friends, usually over a glass of wine. Our personal stories had so many similarities, I began to see a pattern. Everyone wants a special someone. No matter what we say to the contrary, the craving for the one person who understands you is universally important to almost everyone on the planet.

What defines you as an author?

I want to make my reader laugh. I want her to recognize a little bit of herself in my characters.

Tell us a little more about Middle Ageish:

Sunny Chanel’s marriage is circling the drain when her husband marks his colonoscopy on the calendar and ignores their anniversary. With divorce papers instead of roses on the horizon, she says “au revoir” Paris and croissants, and “hello” cheap New Haven apartment and ramen noodles.

Encouraged by her friends, Sunny jumps into online dating, twenty-three years and twenty pounds after her last date. To her surprise she discovers dating might require a helmet, and occasionally armor to protect her heart, but after years of being ignored, her adventurous side craves fun and conversation. She’s middle-aged not dead. Then suddenly, on the way to reinventing herself, life takes a left turn when the one man she can’t forget calls with an unexpected request.

Excerpt from Middle Ageish

Of course, my goodbye Paris party was at Chez Lulu in the Latin Quarter, Paris’ most Bohemian arrondissment. Lulu’s has that Fifties diner look—clean, spare and edgy like an Edward Hopper painting minus the feeling of isolation. It’s always packed, and the music is Buddy Holly, early Elvis, Patsy Cline, the Everly Brothers—a mix of rock and roll and country.

“Dinner’s here,” announced Dulcie, waving her beer glass before taking a long pull. “Everyone let them through!”

“Hey, ain’t this a swell party?” said Bertrand, arriving at our noisy table with an armload of gourmet burgers. “Who’s got the Marilyn Monroe with Mickey Mantles?”

Have I mentioned all the waiters are imitation James Deans, white T-shirts and jeans with rolled cuffs? Bertrand and Albert—they both speak perfect, slangy English—are our favorites. Bertrand is flirty in a sweet way and working his way through the Institute d’Etudes Politiques de Paris.

“And the Robert Mitchum with Buddy Holly fries?” Lulu’s boasts seven varieties of American fries, named for baseball players, or French and American pop stars.

“Two Jane Russells with Joe DiMaggio fries?” Albert, at Lulu’s between acting jobs, shouted, and everyone quieted for a moment, shuffling plates and passing them across the table. Movie star burgers with caramelized onions on miniature baguette buns. My mouth was so ready.

My going-away party…and I am not going to cry. Moving to New Haven and…I’m not not not crying.

Next to me, Natalie held out The Middle-Aged Idiot’s Guide to Online Dating. “For when you start dating,” she yelled over the roar that is Lulu’s. “This book really helped––”

“Dating? Seriously?” I grabbed two curly fries, the Joe DiMaggios, and popped them into my mouth. Picked up the burger, took a bite. Camembert oozed around the edges. Orgasmic. “Like dating is on my list of things to do?” I said around the burger. “Right below sticking a rusty fork in my eye?”

Right there, with my mouth around my favorite burger in the world, I lost my appetite.

BUY MIDDLE AGEISH AT YOUR FAVORITE BOOKSTORE:

Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/yxcqystg Middle Ageish

APPLE https://tinyurl.com/y37cbc5u

Nook/Barnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/yyuwpq6o

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54758920-middle-ageish

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/3531427862?list=following

About the Author

Shirley Goldberg is a writer, novelist, and former ESL and French teacher who’s lived in Paris, Crete, and Casablanca. She writes about men and women of a certain age starting over. Her website http://midagedating.com offers a humorous look into dating in mid life, and her friends like to guess which stories are true. Middle Ageish is her first book in the series Starting Over. Her character believes you should never leave home without your sense of humor and Shirley agrees.

Visit my website for another excerpt from the book. Sign up and grab a copy of Happy Hour, a short story about an online meet and a tiny misunderstanding.

https://midagedating.com/

Find Shirley on Social Media:

https://www.facebook.com/midagedating

https://twitter.com/mylifeasadate

https://www.instagram.com/shirleygoldbergauthor/

It’s been great having you with us today. Good luck with Middle Ageish!