By Ruth Hay

You should be a writer!”

I heard this statement once or twice throughout my busy life. Of course, I was tremendously flattered, but to actually devote time and effort to finding out if I had the ability to write seriously, was more than I could manage.

You may have had a similar experience. Were you told you were a natural storyteller, or a born comedian or you knew more about your family than anyone else? Well, I am happy to tell you there’s still time to write it all down for posterity.

After I finally concluded my teaching career, I faced the question; “If not now, when?”

I gathered my courage along with a shred of a story idea and started to write. It was a secret enterprise at first. I had no idea if I could sustain a whole novel and if I failed, I preferred it not to be known.

The miracle happened around chapter three when I realized how keen I was to get to the computer and see what my fictional characters were up to. Yes, the story began to take charge and I just followed along with pure delight in the journey. (Believe me, this can happen and most authors don’t tell you about it.)

That first novel, Auld Acquaintance, was written just before I turned seventy. It was only the beginning.  It became a series of six, now seven, linked stories about a mature woman, her friends and her family. I called the series Prime Time because I figured my readers were in their prime years with time to read.

Prime Time Series by Ruth Hay

I can hear you asking how the series got published. That’s another story. It took time, a few detours around traditional publishing sources and misleading internet adventures, but I really needed a quick answer as I now had readers who liked my books enough to encourage me to go further.

There was a lot to learn on this journey and I required help to go beyond faithful family and friends to the wider world where I believed my books belonged. I needed digital publishing online that did not cost an arm and a leg. The good news is that help can be found in just a few clicks on your computer. Some computer tech skills are useful to transfer your original document to a format ready to publish but the costs are zero or minimal at Kobo or Amazon.

My choice was to pay skilled help and/or willing experts, or younger family members, to assist me with certain tasks including cover design and marketing plans. I figure I don’t want to waste my lovely writing time on skills it might take too long to acquire.

Remember; I am older and wiser, like you!

Now I am a published eBook author who also has paperbacks for readers, and there are many, who prefer a book in hand.  I write for women like me who admire the style of authors like Maeve Binchy and Rosamunde Pilcher. My category, or genre, is Contemporary Women’s Fiction and I have 17 titles currently, with two more in the works.

I mentioned my first series, Prime Time. There are two more series;  Seafarers (3 titles) and Seven Days (six titles).

Seven Days Series by Ruth Hay

Here’s another piece of gold standard marketing advice. The first title in each series is FREE!

To see my series with titles in order, go to my website; www.ruthhay.com where you will find direct links to the major companies, like Kobo, who sell my books.

Do I spend all day every day on my writing? No. I fit it into the other demands of home, family and friends, but that time alone with my laptop is precious, joyful and profitable.

You can do this too. Your long-held wish to become a real writer is easier now than it ever was before. Your dream can come to fruition very soon.

It’s never too late.

Ruth Hay is a Scottish-born Canadian who sells books in Canada, America, the United Kingdom and Australia. She has always loved reading, writing journals and traveling. Many of her adventures add color to the settings of her novel series but it is her beloved characters who draw readers back to her books. Ruth lives in London, Ontario, with a husband, three cats and, occasionally, three dogs belonging to her son.