Vicki Lane | No Manolos, No Makeup, and the Romantic Interest is Bald
"She flowed into his arms and they stood silently for a moment: two middle-aged people, much encumbered by heavy winter outerwear and vintage emotional baggage, but, for the moment, in perfect harmony."
So, I get the invitation to blog on Fresh Fiction and I accept joyfully, especially since the kind folks here have named my recent release In a Dark Season “Pick of the Day” (5/25/08). I start checking out some past blogs and then I see the covers of featured books. Hmmm. Flowing hair, heaving bosoms, and more six-packs than a convenience store. Oh dear! This isn’t what I write – do they really want me?Mind you, I have nothing against tempestuous heroines and hunky heroes – I’ve drooled my way through a Judith Krantz title or two before this. But when I began to write in 2000 – at the age of fifty seven – I’d already spent about ten years, looking around for role models -- older women who were aging in the way I hoped to. It seemed as if the media was crawling with gorgeous twenty-somethings and the occasional cute, feisty old lady and in real life there was a great middle ground of women trying desperately to give the illusion of being younger than they really were. But I was looking for women who were unapologetic about aging -- un-lifted, un-dyed, and un-Botoxed. I was looking for women who didn’t feel defined by their age – women to whom age was irrelevant. So I invented her.
My Elizabeth Goodweather Appalachian Mysteries have as protagonist a woman ‘of a certain age’ -- not beautiful or even beautifully dressed -- but a woman in her fifties whose long braid of dark hair is shot with silver threads, a woman whose knees aren’t what they once were, and who wouldn’t know a Jimmy Choo if it stomped on her instep. (Wouldn’t feel it either, as she’s usually wearing hiking boots.)
Elizabeth doesn’t dwell on her age or her hot flashes or her weight or her graying hair – she just gets on with solving the mystery – traveling up and down the dark hollows and coves of her mountain county (Signs in the Blood), weaving her way through the quirky art scene of nearby Asheville (Art’s Blood), exploring the world of the Cherokee (Old Wounds), or deciding what to do about the man who wants to marry her (In a Dark Season). And yes, he’s balding.
Really, Elizabeth’s age is peripheral to the story – this is NOT “Geezer Lit.” But she is aging gracefully -- and my greatest pleasure is hearing from the many women who feel like she’s a friend they look forward to visiting every year.
My very favorite email was from a woman who wrote: “Elizabeth makes me want to stop dyeing my hair and be who I really am.”
Amen, sister!
Vicki Lane
Website -- http://vickilanemysteries.com/
(Almost) Daily Blog - http://vickilanemysteries.blogspot.com/
Monthly Amazon Blog
Random House Podcast
Labels: mysteries, Vicki Lane, woman sleuth, writer
posted by Fresh Fiction @ 1:00 AM
13 Comments:
Which is exactly why I enjoy Elizabeth and her mysteries so much. She portrays the reality of being a 'woman of a certain age' with grace and normalacy. It is refreshing to read about a woman who actually weed eats! ;-) And of course the mystery pulls you in almost immediately. The rich background and interwoven culture adds icing to the cake.
Tammy
Thanks, Tammy! (and for those who might be puzzled, that's 'weed eats' as in using a weed eater, aka string trimmer or weed whacker. Though Elizabeth does ingest the occasional dandelion leaf or violet blossom in her salads.)
Vicki's books draw you in from the first page and have you guessing the outcome til the very end ... few authors do that for me. Her characters are very life like/real ... the 'boyfriend', the daughters, the neighbors, and, of course, Elizabeth, a gal who simply does her own thing, and who, IMO, each of us wishes we were a little like.
Vicki's books are the best ... the only drawback is having to wait a year in-between
Aw shucks, ma'am, (dragging booted toe through garden soil), you're so kind!
Bought your first book a couple years back at a literary festival and have been hooked ever since. I used to worry about the fact that I'm nearing 40 and still haven't gotten my book written. You are my inspiration, Vicki. I don't think my book will measure up to yours, but at least I know it's (a) OK to have your first book published after 40 and (b) possible to write about real people...people who don't wear heels every day (if ever), let their hair go gray, are losing their hair, etc. I think that's why I like your books too; weed eating (both kinds), hiking boots...reality.
Vicki
One of the many many many reasons I love your mysteries is that that your characters are real. They are people I feel I know, with realistic concerns and attitudes. I always know that I can dive into and get lost in your books, an even enjoy re-reading them. They are not filled with lame characters and artificial settings.
Like you, I might enjoy a bodice ripper occasionally. But the books that I CONSISTENTLY buy and read are filled with characters like Elizabeth.
Thanks so very much for bringing her to life.
What's really cool is that my editor at Bantam Dell has long hair (with some gray)worn in a braid. Not at all what I expected for a big time NY editor. Knowing that there's acceptance in NYC for our kind of protag (or author)is really heartening.
Thanks, smco235 -- love it that you re-read. That's my highest preaise for a book.
Romance is hot at any age. That is something I have learned upon return to Madison County. Your generation has redefined aging. Elizabeth is an example!
Yowza! Thank you, Ms. Red Heart!
Pretty much what everyone else said, and I've said before on DorothyL. I love Elizabeth Goodweather!
It's damn good and emotionally healthy to know, accept, and rejoice in who you truly are. Vicki's writing lets us venture into Elizabeth's mind and we find ourselves. From someone who no longer wears heels, hasn't put on pantie hose in ten years, and stopped coloring her hair.
Oh, you wonderful women! Hear you roar!
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