Just Because
There's Snow on the Roof...
The More "Mature" Heroine and
Hero
Copyright Judy Bagshaw - All Rights
Reserved
There's an old folk saying that goes
"just because there's snow on the roof, doesn't mean
there's no fire in the furnace". That's never become truer
for me than now that I'm in my fifties. Romance is not just
for the youngsters!
I am part of the Baby Boomer generation,
and we're starting to age. Many of us are reaching
retirement age, and many of those retirees are moving on to
second careers. One estimate I found said that there are
more than 39 million Baby Boom women between the ages of 42
and 60. Wow! And face it, 50, 60, and even 70 these days,
is not the same as a generation ago. We're still vital,
productive, young-at-heart, and yes, lookin' for
love!
If you take a look at popular media at
the moment, there's plenty of evidence that we're not
getting older, we're getting better. Look at Cher and
Madonna, Susan Sarandon and Diane Keaton, Oprah and Martha.
And let's not forget the fellas; guys like George Clooney
and Pierce Brosnan. Recent reality tv shows had Ivanna
Trump finding love matches for her forty-something
successful women and former model Jerry Hall, searching for
her "younger" kept man. Actress Suzanne Somers, aged sixty,
has just published her book "Ageless".
Groups like the Red Hat Society,
celebrate the glory that is the woman over fifty. These are
women living life to the fullest and be-damned with
society's opinion!
And in the romance publishing field, a
new genre of books has appeared. Generally dubbed hen lit
or matron lit, it follows in the popular chick lit shoes,
but is geared toward women over forty. Here we'll find
heroines who are dealing with divorce, widowhood,
menopause, and grandchildren. They'll have some grey in
their hair and cellulite in their thighs. There will be the
reality of varicose veins, dentures and bifocals. I could
relate to these women!
And it's a rich, new market for a
romance writer to exploit.
Transita is a publisher in the UK that
specializes in publishing stories with more mature heroines
and heroes. Their mandate says, "Transita books reflect the
lives of mature women". www.transita.co.uk
E-publisher, Triskelion Publishing, has
their After Hours imprint which features "mature heroines
and heroes over the age of forty. www.triskelionpublishing.com
Even Harlequin has jumped on the
bandwagon, with their "Next" line of more mature
characters, and their "Everlasting" line that follow a
couple over a lifetime together.
Another possible market is a company
like Vintage Romance Publishing. Publishing historical
fiction that spans the gamut from ancient days to the
fifties, it is an opportunity for we Baby Boomer writers to
interview our mothers and grandmothers to find romance
stories that perhaps happened during the World Wars or the
Depression.
We more mature women are no longer
doomed to believe that our lives are over once we hit
forty. Heck, we're just getting started! It's time for the
heroines in our popular romantic fiction to reflect
that.
About the Author: Judy
Bagshaw has been published since 2000. Writing
romance featuring full-figured heroines, her
publishing credits include 4 novels, 1 collection of
short stories, and short stories in three
anthologies. She was also part of the writing team
for the Ginn Reading Series, and Reaching Readers
Series, used in many elementary schools. Retired from
teaching, she writes full-time from her home in
Ontario, Canada. Visit Judy's
website:
www.judybagshaw.com
