Joan Medlicott, a western NC author

Tonight while browsing ncwriters.org I came across the name Joan Medlicott, which I had heard recently. She lives in western NC near Asheville and is quite a successful author. I took the liberty of lifting some of her words which should give all of us inspiration to "go for it" no matter what we are told by others. No matter that we live in a society that implies life is over after fifty.


"It had never occurred to me to write professionally. All my writing had been for organizations. Then, in 1989, a friend and I decided that there was a problem out there in America — many women were living in sexless marriages. We decided to write a self-help book on the subject. We had no clue how to begin, but fools rush in where... you know what. We did just that, learning as we went along. In 1992 Celibate Wives: Breaking the Silence was published. It was not marketed by its publisher, and went nowhere. But, by then, I’d been bitten by the writer’s bug.I knew nothing about novel writing. In fact, my then agent said that non-fiction writers could not switch to novels. I thought, you wait and see. I was certain that I could learn. I took classes, hired an editor, read copiously and kept on going. It never bothered me to be the least knowledgeable writer in a writers group, or to take criticism. I discovered there was a craft to be mastered, and I set out to do that through writers’ magazines, workshops, classes, writing groups.The idea for Ladies came to me in the bathtub and persisted until I sat at the computer to put down my thoughts. I never stopped. When I did not know what came next, I soaked in the tub and the next chapter or twist of plot would come to me. I am grateful to the universe for its guidance.My life is full and active. Besides my writing, I volunteer at a local library sorting, pricing and selling the used books at our annual used book sale. I am on the library board and for the last two years have a been co-manager of the 1st and 2nd annual Western North Carolina Book Fair."



Recently at a workshop, I was surprised to find several people who said they were writing a book. Most of them had written very little and published nothing. Like Ms. Medlicott, we must study the craft of writing, take every opportunity to learn from others who have made it, but it is never too late to begin.

If you have read Joan Medlicott's books, let us hear from you. What do you like about Joan's books? email: writerlady21@yahoo.com