✨The Empress Questionnaire✨Get to Know Novelist Margie Zable Fisher!✨👑✨
The Fortune WELL writer honors her late mother with THE CABERNET CLUB!
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Fellow Empresses, how’s the queendom holding up?
This week’s Empress Questionnaire hits differently—it’s a celebration, a tribute, and a heartfelt journey all in one. Midlife has many of us juggling two generations, launching our kids into the world while caring for aging parents, all while trying to remember where we left our reading glasses. But every so often, amid the chaos, a project lands in your lap that feels like destiny—something only you can bring to life.
This week, we’re honored to feature Margie Zable Fisher, whose story is a beautiful blend of love, legacy, and literary ambition. With The Cabernet Club, she not only fulfills a lifelong dream but also pays homage to her late mother and co-author, Rona S. Zable. So, raise a glass—today, we toast the power of midlife reinvention, female friendship, and a novel worth savoring. Cheers! 🍷✨
🍷 New Life. New Friends. And a Splash of Cabernet. 🍷 – If Grace and Frankie and The Golden Girls had a book club, this would be their top pick! A hilarious, heartwarming novel about starting over, deep friendships, and the surprising adventures of midlife.
—Alisa Kennedy Jones
About Margie…
After Margie turned 50, she decided to live her best life.
She began competing in triathlons and shifted from running her P.R. business to becoming a full-time writer.
To help other women over 50 live their best lives, she created a Facebook group, The 50-Year-Old Mermaid, for women to share their experiences.
She also began to focus her freelance writing efforts on healthy and happy aging.
Today, Margie writes often about health, personal finance, and Medicare, for AARP, Fortune Aging Well, and Next Avenue.
She lives in South Florida with her husband, David, a science teacher and part-time pickleball instructor. Her daughter, Zoe, is currently a first-grade teacher on the west coast of Florida. Their dog, Rex, a rescued Aussiepoo, keeps them all busy.
When she’s not running, cycling, or playing pickleball, Margie loves to play the New York Times Spelling Bee, read wonderful books, and watch British thrillers and mysteries. She enjoys getting beaten at Boggle when her daughter comes home to visit.
About The Cabernet Club…
In February 2023, when her mother was on her deathbed, Margie made her a promise: that she would get her novel traditionally published.
This would be her mother’s first adult novel, and she wasn't interested in self-publishing it, because in the '80s and '90s, she had 4 young adult and middle-grade novels published by major NYC publishers.
After she passed away, Margie realized that her mom’s novel needed work. She thought because she was already a writer of articles (non-fiction) and a voracious reader, she could make a few changes, find an agent or publisher, and fulfill her promise. Not!
Margie took off three months from her regular writing work and spent that time learning how to write fiction. She ended up adding 20,000 words, new characters, and more.
During that time Margie also grieved the loss of her mom. They were extremely close. Margie was an only child and her mom was a single parent.
When the novel was finished, Margie spent a year pitching agents and publishers.
On January 31, 2025, The Cabernet Club, co-authored by Rona S. Zable and Margie Zable Fisher, will be published. The best part? The publisher is Sibylline Press, a new, small press that only publishes books by women authors over 50.
The Cabernet Club is a coming-of-age story of a retiree and offers a hopeful message about aging. Here’s a short description:
New retiree, long-time New Englander, and Jewish redneck Debbie Gordon has six months to create the life of her dreams in a wacky budget condo community in South Florida, but it’ll take all her wit, grit, and help from her new friends (The Cabernet Club) to find happiness.
You can get your copy here, and if you like it, please leave a review!
1. What is your idea of perfect midlife happiness?
What I have now. Creating a life filled with my favorite activities and work. Health and fitness are high priorities, and because my work schedule is flexible, I can spend a couple of hours each day on fitness.
2. Which empress, queen, goddess, or mythical figure do you most identify with?
Mermaids. I’m a Piscean, which is a water sign, and I feel a strong connection with water. I identify with many traits of mermaids, including independence, passion, introversion, rebelliousness, sensitivity, and mystery.
3. Which living midlife woman do you most admire? (And why?)
I most admire older women who are fitness role models. The woman who comes to mind is the Iron Nun, Sister Madonna Buder. She is in her nineties and completed many Ironman challenges later in life. I met her and wrote about her in a piece here for Outside Triathlete.
4. What aspect of midlife or the peri/menopausal journey do you most deplore?
Becoming more invisible. By living our best lives as we get older, and sharing those experiences with others, we lift ourselves and help other midlifers and older women become more visible.
5. What do you most treasure or value about this phase of life?
So many things. Freedom, curiosity, grief, new friendships, heightened intuition, appreciation.
6. If you could share one key midlife lesson, hack, or nugget of wisdom, what would it be?
Dynamic stretching before I participate in fitness activities has been a game changer for me in midlife. Before you do any kind of workout, warming up your muscles with dynamic stretching can help prevent injury. The key difference between dynamic and static stretching is that dynamic stretching involves controlled movements (arm rolls, leg swings), while static stretching involves holding a position for a period of time (which is often great as a cool-down).
7. What gives you the greatest sense of agency in midlife? (i.e. “Knowing that I can…”)
Knowing that I can do almost anything I want to do.
8. Give us the headline for your Empress Age. (one that captures the bold narrative you are rewriting for the latter half of your life)
“The rest of our lives can be the best of our lives.” Spoiler Alert: This is also the motto of my novel, The Cabernet Club!
Margie’s Empress Edit
Paso Dragon Cabernet - only available at Trader Joe’s - under $10 - Everyone who tries this at my house loves it - even people who don’t normally like red wine.
Nature’s Bounty Vitamin D3 - I live in Florida and spend a lot of time in the sun, but I still take Vitamin D. Most of us are Vitamin D-deficient, which can lead to depression, fatigue, and an increased risk of high blood pressure and heart disease. The National Institute of Health suggests 600 IU per day for midlifers, but I take a really high dosage (5,000 IU), so check with your doctor first.
Nature's Bounty Calcium Magnesium & Zinc Caplets - Magnesium is a top supplement for healthy aging. Many people are deficient in this mineral, too. My article explains the benefits of magnesium, including the fact that Vitamin D needs magnesium in order to work. I take 2 of these tablets before I go to sleep to help me with sleep (the magnesium portion helps with that). Magnesium also helps keep your bowel movements regular. Calcium is good for bones and zinc helps your immune system.
The Inkey List Hyaluronic Acid Serum - It’s under $20, and it makes my lines less noticeable and my face glow a bit.
The Upgrade: How the Female Brain Gets Stronger and Better in Midlife and Beyond, by Louann Brizendine, M.D. - This is one of the most inspiring reads for midlife women. I felt so empowered after reading it!
Clarks Women's Breeze Sea Flip Flop - When I’m not wearing sneakers, I wear these 90% of the time. I have several colors, and they are all so comfortable because they have great cushioning and a fabric thong between the big and second toe. Plus, they are usually under $40. I see women wearing them all the time when I’m out and about in Florida.
Women's Sleeveless Goodnite Shirt by Goodwear- I usually sleep au naturel, but when I do sleep in a nightshirt, it’s this one. I own 5 of these in black and wear them every day because I use them as loungewear. So cool and comfortable.
Where readers can find you:
I have a giveaway running until February 12!
“Read Between the Wines” giveaway:
Five lucky winners will receive a signed copy of The Cabernet Club and a bottle of Margie’s favorite cabernet. Margie will randomly choose giveaway winners on February 12, 2025.
We hope you enjoyed this week’s questionnaire.
Yours in Grandeur & Deep Sh*t,
ps - I am a human typo. Amnesty appreciated.
*The information contained in this post is intended for informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any illness. Before using any practices or products referenced in this piece or others, always consult your healthcare providers, read all labels, and heed all cautions that come with the products. Information received from this piece, or anywhere in this Substack, should never be used in place of a consultation or advice from a healthcare provider. If you suspect you have any adverse conditions, please consult your healthcare providers immediately. This Substack, including Alisa Jones and any other writers or editors, disclaims any responsibility for any possible adverse effects from the use of any information contained herein. Opinions of any writers in this Substack are their own, and the Substack does not accept responsibility for statements made by writers. This Substack does not make any representations or warranties about a writer’s qualifications or credibility.
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You met the Iron Nun? Maybe not everyone can appreciate the significance of such a meeting, but as someone whose done a bunch of triathlons, I love hearing that you met her. Thank you for linking the article you wrote. And very excited for your book! Congrats on getting it published! ✨☺️
I am SO looking forward to reading this book! Margie’s attitude and style bring contagious joy.