You are so brilliant my friend. I can hardly wait to see what submissions get chosen.
I just finished reading the vaunted “all fours” and will be writing about it soon. I was so excited to see what all the fuss was about I asked for it as a Christmas present.
I must’ve woken up on the “prude” side of the bed because I hated it. 😵💫🫤
Ok, I think we're both so funny, because... I *wanted* to love it, but it just made me so tense! I had to put it down??? I thought I was the only one in the whole world and was going to try again, lol!!! I don't think of myself as a prude, but I definitely love feeling loved with a capital "L" and for some reason, it made me feel more lonely with a capital "L", you know?
Exactly!! I was so pissed off at the book I stayed up until after 2am to finish reading it because I couldn’t bare to keep it going for any more days. I needed to be done with it and see if the end was any better. Nope. It was like a very unsatisfying, annoying, not quite there orgasm. 😂
Oh man, that's so disappointing. And I was feeling so judgy... like, am I wrong to want her to get on her way to New York to see really AMAZING theater and art instead of THIS? Am I wrong to judge her bedspread choices? They just seemed so tacky, lol! 😂 But what do I know???
I'm still processing as I try to write about it. I keep thinking of her g-damned hand and how on earth she manages to orgasm by licking it and simply flicking it to her vag. I'm with you. I would've been more interested in whatever might happen on her way to and in NY! But, who are we to judge? It's been on all kinds of bestseller lists and ranked top book on one of them (which I think was NYT?) SO, the build up was immense, which is maybe why the actual content was so disappointing. It certainly didn't live up to the hype. My take is it's a menopausal woman's version of Fifty Shades of Grey. If I wanted soft-core porn, I would've chosen something very different. It's telling I would have no idea where to find it though!!
I am working on two now! One is 2/3rds finished and the other is still in its infancy… can’t wait to get to work on them. Hoping to complete both this year…
Thank you for recognising that our love stories in whatever form matters 💞🌸
Fantastic! Congratulations on your publishing enterprise!
Alisa, would you like to write a guest essay for my blog about your new publishing effort? I publish a guest blog by a woman writer or publisher past midlife on the tenth of each month. Reach to my mailing list and platform is over 6000.
And given that my book on writing, editing, publishing and marketing Seasoned Romance launched last August, I'd love to brainstorm about other ways to collaborate.
PS Alisa, may I send you a comp e-copy of "Write & Sell a Well-Seasoned Romance?"
Congrats on this endeavor! I think if, G-d forbid, something happened to my beloved, I wouldn’t bother dating. I love my alone time and the only reason to have a companion is to make sure the other is still breathing in old age. In that case, a phone system with a gal pal or one of those ugly necklace alerts would do the trick. It’s a rare thing to be lucky in love twice. So maybe that’s where a delightful fictional story fills the gap. Kudos! 👏👏👏🎉🎊🎈
Honestly, we're having so much fun and I do think I got lucky the first time around in love and for that, I am forever grateful. I feel like this endeavor will be what keeps me and my gal pals feeling spritely and not needing the life alerts into our crone years, but we'll see! ❤️🔥👑
Hmmm...3 points/questions -- as a squarely midlife woman who just woke up these past 2 weeks to realize how neurodivergent I am..
1. I have heard there are over 100 symptoms of perimenopause.
2. So many of us mid-lifers are NOT pursing love -- like so many of the young women who are enacting the 4B plan. Why? Because we are done being defined by a love that has to be external to us. We are done spending our time and energy on the men in our age range that have been rejected once, twice, three times-by-a-woman...and still have refused to evolve and do their work to grow up. Done doing the emotional lifting of relationships that give us less time and energy and space to pursue our own passions, especially as the combination of perimenopause and neurodivergency lambasts us with so many fun symptoms. And done being called selfish by men who want to gaslight us back into "good patriarchal women". Just done. Give me my electronic boyfriend, my own historical fiction novel about Mary Magdelene as the Christ (and a polyamorous lover) in the works, Bridgerton or Mia Culpa and leave me be :-).
Are these type of stories -- of deciding to love ourselves -- also welcomed?
3. Is there a submission deadline if #2 is accepted? I did not see one.
Thanks for being a voice and now publisher for women! Exciting times no matter what are ahead for us women and all the work we are producing to help Deconstrcut Patriarchy ;-)!
Hey there, Thank you for such thought-provoking questions and insights!
You’re so absolutely right—there are reports of over 100 potential symptoms associated with perimenopause. While the Cleveland Clinic highlights about 30 of the more common ones, every body is wonderfully (and sometimes frustratingly!) unique. Symptoms can vary wildly from person to person, and some—including my own experience of grand mal seizures paired with night sweats at age 40—don’t always make the “official” lists. Your point underscores the importance of broadening the conversation around the diversity of our experiences, and I’ll make a note to weave more nuance into our discussions!
Your thoughts on love resonate deeply. Many of us in midlife are embracing a new paradigm—one that moves away from traditional expectations of romance and focuses instead on self-love, personal passions, and rewriting our own narratives. Whether it’s a story featuring a neurodivergent Mary Magdalene as a polyamorous goddess, a robot Romeo redefining love, or simply the transformative journey of falling in love with yourself, those narratives are not only welcome—they’re essential. We’re here for all the ways women are reclaiming their energy, space, and creativity from outdated societal molds.
On the third point... Great news: there’s no submission deadline :) We accept rolling submissions, which allows us to thoughtfully curate and publish work that aligns with our vision and the hopes of our readers. Our priority is producing stories with care, depth, and quality that contribute to dismantling the patriarchy while celebrating the myriad ways we’re redefining life, love, and fulfillment.
Thank you for your voice and enthusiasm—it’s an exciting time for all of us as we continue to reshape the narrative. I can't say we won't mess up at times, but I'm really glad you're here. -A
Wow - that was a quick reply and on NY's -- thank you Alissa. Your picture of Ms. Bridgerton got me to read BTW. I am re-watching this series for the upteenth time as I lean into how Sisterhood is an amazing tool to combat violence and patriarchy (a post and YT vidoe coming out soon on this!).
Okay - by no means did I think you got anything wrong in your article. Just wanted to make sure that women know there are SOO Many symptoms that we have just been told for far too long are "in our head"...and not paying us heed to what we really experience. Especially when perimenopause unmasks neurodivergence and how that really explains a lot of the 100+ syptoms. (BTW - if you have not found this woman's work - highly recommend it. Progesterone has been a LIFE savor for my mid-life friends and I based on high dosing! https://thewellnessbydesignproject.com/2022/08/symptoms-of-progesterone-deficiency/)
2 & 3. - YAY..such good news. I am deep into scripting and filming my first YT "season" and hoping to have more time to return to my book and perhaps writing a story about my Love journey for y'all too. "
Um and Robot Romeo....yes please...that sounds amazing.
And neurodivergent Mary Mag...I guess she will be since I am writing her. I am literally so new at this discovery for myself, but started writing this story in May. But thinking she would have to be neuro spicy to have done the awesomeness she is going to do for the world via my book.
Oh, and so excited you are publishing. Definitely want to talk more later to see if I am a good fit for y'all. This book is a series, and I would love to do workbooks for it as well to bring in more of the historical and sociological points I am making in it.
Plus, I do have a non-fiction "non-self-help, self-help" book I have lightly started working on around the idea of Deconstructing Patriarchy.
Make fucking waaaayyyy!!!!
You are so brilliant my friend. I can hardly wait to see what submissions get chosen.
I just finished reading the vaunted “all fours” and will be writing about it soon. I was so excited to see what all the fuss was about I asked for it as a Christmas present.
I must’ve woken up on the “prude” side of the bed because I hated it. 😵💫🫤
Ok, I think we're both so funny, because... I *wanted* to love it, but it just made me so tense! I had to put it down??? I thought I was the only one in the whole world and was going to try again, lol!!! I don't think of myself as a prude, but I definitely love feeling loved with a capital "L" and for some reason, it made me feel more lonely with a capital "L", you know?
Exactly!! I was so pissed off at the book I stayed up until after 2am to finish reading it because I couldn’t bare to keep it going for any more days. I needed to be done with it and see if the end was any better. Nope. It was like a very unsatisfying, annoying, not quite there orgasm. 😂
Oh man, that's so disappointing. And I was feeling so judgy... like, am I wrong to want her to get on her way to New York to see really AMAZING theater and art instead of THIS? Am I wrong to judge her bedspread choices? They just seemed so tacky, lol! 😂 But what do I know???
I'm still processing as I try to write about it. I keep thinking of her g-damned hand and how on earth she manages to orgasm by licking it and simply flicking it to her vag. I'm with you. I would've been more interested in whatever might happen on her way to and in NY! But, who are we to judge? It's been on all kinds of bestseller lists and ranked top book on one of them (which I think was NYT?) SO, the build up was immense, which is maybe why the actual content was so disappointing. It certainly didn't live up to the hype. My take is it's a menopausal woman's version of Fifty Shades of Grey. If I wanted soft-core porn, I would've chosen something very different. It's telling I would have no idea where to find it though!!
Have my thinking cap on. Cool beans
As the lovely A.K.J once (or twice) wrote, Huzzah! 👋👋👋
Aww... so much love and inspiration for you, Kimberly! ❤️🔥👑✨
Mazel Tov!
Thanks, Mary! Inspired by you--every day! ❤️🔥👑 xo
The feeling is mutual 💝!
YES this is excellent! Can't wait to read them :)
So inspired, every day! ❤️🔥👑✨
So excited for this! Congratulations 🍾🥂
I am working on two now! One is 2/3rds finished and the other is still in its infancy… can’t wait to get to work on them. Hoping to complete both this year…
Thank you for recognising that our love stories in whatever form matters 💞🌸
So excited to hear about your projects and look forward to reading! Beyond glad you are here with us! ❤️🔥👑✨
Fantastic! Congratulations on your publishing enterprise!
Alisa, would you like to write a guest essay for my blog about your new publishing effort? I publish a guest blog by a woman writer or publisher past midlife on the tenth of each month. Reach to my mailing list and platform is over 6000.
And given that my book on writing, editing, publishing and marketing Seasoned Romance launched last August, I'd love to brainstorm about other ways to collaborate.
PS Alisa, may I send you a comp e-copy of "Write & Sell a Well-Seasoned Romance?"
See: http://www.stellafosse.com
Yes, Yes, Yes! Thanks so much, Stella! I will reach out to you directly!
Congrats on this endeavor! I think if, G-d forbid, something happened to my beloved, I wouldn’t bother dating. I love my alone time and the only reason to have a companion is to make sure the other is still breathing in old age. In that case, a phone system with a gal pal or one of those ugly necklace alerts would do the trick. It’s a rare thing to be lucky in love twice. So maybe that’s where a delightful fictional story fills the gap. Kudos! 👏👏👏🎉🎊🎈
Honestly, we're having so much fun and I do think I got lucky the first time around in love and for that, I am forever grateful. I feel like this endeavor will be what keeps me and my gal pals feeling spritely and not needing the life alerts into our crone years, but we'll see! ❤️🔥👑
Hmmm...3 points/questions -- as a squarely midlife woman who just woke up these past 2 weeks to realize how neurodivergent I am..
1. I have heard there are over 100 symptoms of perimenopause.
2. So many of us mid-lifers are NOT pursing love -- like so many of the young women who are enacting the 4B plan. Why? Because we are done being defined by a love that has to be external to us. We are done spending our time and energy on the men in our age range that have been rejected once, twice, three times-by-a-woman...and still have refused to evolve and do their work to grow up. Done doing the emotional lifting of relationships that give us less time and energy and space to pursue our own passions, especially as the combination of perimenopause and neurodivergency lambasts us with so many fun symptoms. And done being called selfish by men who want to gaslight us back into "good patriarchal women". Just done. Give me my electronic boyfriend, my own historical fiction novel about Mary Magdelene as the Christ (and a polyamorous lover) in the works, Bridgerton or Mia Culpa and leave me be :-).
Are these type of stories -- of deciding to love ourselves -- also welcomed?
3. Is there a submission deadline if #2 is accepted? I did not see one.
Thanks for being a voice and now publisher for women! Exciting times no matter what are ahead for us women and all the work we are producing to help Deconstrcut Patriarchy ;-)!
Hey there, Thank you for such thought-provoking questions and insights!
You’re so absolutely right—there are reports of over 100 potential symptoms associated with perimenopause. While the Cleveland Clinic highlights about 30 of the more common ones, every body is wonderfully (and sometimes frustratingly!) unique. Symptoms can vary wildly from person to person, and some—including my own experience of grand mal seizures paired with night sweats at age 40—don’t always make the “official” lists. Your point underscores the importance of broadening the conversation around the diversity of our experiences, and I’ll make a note to weave more nuance into our discussions!
Your thoughts on love resonate deeply. Many of us in midlife are embracing a new paradigm—one that moves away from traditional expectations of romance and focuses instead on self-love, personal passions, and rewriting our own narratives. Whether it’s a story featuring a neurodivergent Mary Magdalene as a polyamorous goddess, a robot Romeo redefining love, or simply the transformative journey of falling in love with yourself, those narratives are not only welcome—they’re essential. We’re here for all the ways women are reclaiming their energy, space, and creativity from outdated societal molds.
On the third point... Great news: there’s no submission deadline :) We accept rolling submissions, which allows us to thoughtfully curate and publish work that aligns with our vision and the hopes of our readers. Our priority is producing stories with care, depth, and quality that contribute to dismantling the patriarchy while celebrating the myriad ways we’re redefining life, love, and fulfillment.
Thank you for your voice and enthusiasm—it’s an exciting time for all of us as we continue to reshape the narrative. I can't say we won't mess up at times, but I'm really glad you're here. -A
Wow - that was a quick reply and on NY's -- thank you Alissa. Your picture of Ms. Bridgerton got me to read BTW. I am re-watching this series for the upteenth time as I lean into how Sisterhood is an amazing tool to combat violence and patriarchy (a post and YT vidoe coming out soon on this!).
Okay - by no means did I think you got anything wrong in your article. Just wanted to make sure that women know there are SOO Many symptoms that we have just been told for far too long are "in our head"...and not paying us heed to what we really experience. Especially when perimenopause unmasks neurodivergence and how that really explains a lot of the 100+ syptoms. (BTW - if you have not found this woman's work - highly recommend it. Progesterone has been a LIFE savor for my mid-life friends and I based on high dosing! https://thewellnessbydesignproject.com/2022/08/symptoms-of-progesterone-deficiency/)
2 & 3. - YAY..such good news. I am deep into scripting and filming my first YT "season" and hoping to have more time to return to my book and perhaps writing a story about my Love journey for y'all too. "
Um and Robot Romeo....yes please...that sounds amazing.
And neurodivergent Mary Mag...I guess she will be since I am writing her. I am literally so new at this discovery for myself, but started writing this story in May. But thinking she would have to be neuro spicy to have done the awesomeness she is going to do for the world via my book.
Oh, and so excited you are publishing. Definitely want to talk more later to see if I am a good fit for y'all. This book is a series, and I would love to do workbooks for it as well to bring in more of the historical and sociological points I am making in it.
Plus, I do have a non-fiction "non-self-help, self-help" book I have lightly started working on around the idea of Deconstructing Patriarchy.
Yea us...here we go!