Deb: Ms. Solomon, what inspired you to challenge the long held ideas and views about mid-life, and older, women?

Alice: While I was writing my newspaper column, I had another full-time job in sales management for an upscale department store. I was meeting any number of older women daily who were unhappy with their lives, their husbands, their bodies, their faces, the food they ate, the clothes they wore; well, you get the idea.

I had recently graduated college at the fine age of 50 and was setting out to establish myself in a new life. Here were women who were fed up with their secure and comfortable lives. What motivated me was the urge and the drive to change their minds - to encourage them to not only be thankful for what they had, but to seek new ways to make their current lives richer, more interesting, and more rewarding. And, to convince them that life was not over at fifty; that it was but the beginning of a new stage in life.
 
 
Deb: Do you consider yourself to be at the forefront of a movement
that has begun to challenge the idea that youth is the end all to be all?

Alice: I don’t know if one would call what I do being at the forefront but I do like to think of myself as a motivator and an inspirational resource. Indeed, it is delightful to see more of the image makers (the media and movie makers) not only paying more attention to the older crowd but also hiring older women for starring roles in movies.

I do find myself a spokesperson at times, duly challenging my same-generation sisters to think about the many years ahead of them and encouraging them to be productive and creative during those years. Middle age is far from old. After all, new statistics tell us that women will be living to an average of 92 years and men to an average of 84. Why not make the most of all that time ahead of us.

 
Deb: Concerning your reader/listener feedback: I know you are a very
busy woman. the website http://gorgeousgrandma.com; magazine articles that you write; and the speaking and advisory service, Gorgeous Grandma Communications. What can you share about the demographics of your audiences…about their feedback and concerns?

Alice: My readers and seminar attendees are mostly single women and some men ranging in age from 40 to 80 (although I do hear from women who have single sisters they want to help), who are most interested in pairing up again. Women tell me that they believe men of their age are interested only in women of a younger age. Of course, I pooh-pooh those thoughts because it is simply not true. What I believe is that many older women are lazy and do not want to put themselves out to the point of being really serious about finding a guy. Men absolutely do not run after us as they did when we were younger. It’s a new ballgame out there and some gals simply do not get it. As for men who do date gals mega-years younger than they, most get fed up with the generation gap and do become more sensible.

When my readers tell me that they are from small towns and cannot find a decent single guy in town, I tell them to get on the internet or travel a bit to a larger town to socialize at a church function, or singles dance, or singles organization, or join a club in that neighboring town.

I receive very positive feedback from my audiences about the internet. Because men believe the internet is the place to meet women, women should get on the internet, place a lovely ad, and meet some men that way. Women should go where men like to go, not where women feel it is appropriate for women to go.  

 
Deb: Was the response to your first book, ADVICE FROM A GORGEOUS GRANDMA: FOR WOMEN OVER FIFTY WHO WANT TO SURVIVE, THRIVE, LIVE, LOVE, DATE, MATE, AND HAVE A BALL! the inspiration to write a second book? How do the two differ in their message?Is there a third book in the offing?

Alice: The first book was an attempt to reach more readers by compiling a serious of newspaper columns about being single into an organized grouping of information on the single life. I decided to sell it in ebook form on my website so that I could get it out to my readers quickly, rather than wait for the long publishing road to take over.

After the book was out awhile, I had acquired an agent who wanted me to rewrite the material as a book rather than keeping it in newspaper article form. I did not enjoy changing the work in that manner and eventually dropped it. When the second book came out, I withdrew the first from my website but will be soon publishing it in softcover with a new title: Love, Sex and the Gorgeous Grandma: Reflections on Being Single After 50.

No, the first book was not an inspiration to write the second. When I moved to Florida a few years ago, I began receiving invitations to speak to the numerous singles groups in the Palm Beach County area. The topics in my talk were so popular and well-received that I decided to write a book to present a more detailed picture of how to find a fellow after fifty.  The inspiration for the second book came from my audiences here in Florida.

As for a third book, my editor called recently and asked me the same thing. Yes, I hope to start one in the near future.  Right now, I am busy with speaking engagements, adding material to my website, and possibly coming out with a line of casual shirts and hats for our wonderful Gorgeous Grandmas. I have had a bundle of requests for Gorgeous Grandma hats, in particular and I will  probably be selling them on my website, http://www.GorgeousGrandma.com

Deb: Have you been inspired by anyone in particular? What type of inspiration would you like to be to others?

Alice:  I am constantly being inspired by my audiences. These gals are hungry for information because it is very lonely living alone. Even though some women may not wish to remarry again, I do know they want to pair up with a companion, lover, or just a date. I am doing research all the time to find new and different ways for women to meet men.

I know I am an inspiration to others because, after fifteen years of living alone reluctantly, I finally found a wonderful man to be with. And, if I can do it, any woman can. She just has to read my book, follow its guidelines, take the self-help quizzes, and get going. In fact, when I do book signings, my signature line reads: “Read, Believe, Achieve, and Succeed!”

Thank you, Deb, for your inquiries about my work. Now, I invite your readers to join me and numerous other Gorgeous Grandmas as subscribers to the free newsletter, published periodically by Gorgeous Grandma Communications, called HOT FLASHES, as well as our new chat group, HOT FLASHES CHAT. Come on over to http://www.gorgeousgrandma.com and sign up!