Writing and Publishing at 80… and Beyond

by Alfred J. Garrotto

A Late Start and a First Leap

As I write this, I’ve just published my seventeenth book, Life in a Flash, a book of flash fiction and poetry. At eighty-nine, I know I have at least one more book in me… a memoir. After that, we’ll see what my creative juices can come up with. I was a late bloomer in writing for publication, having spent the first two decades of my adulthood studying for the Roman Catholic priesthood and then ministering full time in that capacity for over a decade.

Discovering the Writing Bug

After making a major midlife change, the writing bug bit. I had a lot of stuff inside me that craved release. Don’t get too excited just yet. My first book arose from what I knew… religion. Without an agent, I took a leap and queried the now defunct religion-oriented publisher, Winston Press in St. Paul, Minnesota. They loved what I sent them! That first book, Christ in our Lives, sprouted into a four-book series called Adult-to-Adult Renewal. And they sold really well… until they didn’t.

Chasing the Real Writer Dream

Despite that early (but still midlife) success, I never truly considered myself a real writer. Why? Because r-e-a-l writers write novels. I was simply “writing what I knew” for Winston Press. Over the few years I published with Winston, I knew about the local branch of the statewide California Writers Club, but I didn’t join. Why? Because I’d only written what I knew—nonfiction and religion-oriented books. So, I set out to become a real writer, a novelist. Wow! The very word gave me goosebumps!

Breaking Into Fiction

Having already entered my fifties by then, I kept following the “write-what-you-know” advice and pumped out a manuscript I titled A Love Forbidden. The story of a priest on a Caribbean island who falls in love with an American volunteer during a hazardous period of political corruption and social hardship in the country. With the hope of becoming a real writer—I sought out and found a literary agent for this book. Having four previously—and commercially—published books opened that door for me. She sold A Love Forbidden to Commonwealth Publications in Canada. I have to confess that when I opened that first box of author copies, I broke down and sobbed right in my own kitchen.

A Bona Fide Author

Now, at last, I had made the grade as a real—yes, an authentic… bona fide author. I was legit. So I joined the California Writers Club in 1996 and am now the oldest (living) member, having served two terms as president and garnering the 2001 Jack London Award. After publishing six more novels, I saw “the creeping shadow on the wall.” The process of writing, agenting, searching for a publisher, etc., simply took too long. At the same time, self-publishing had become an easy, faster option—though a much tougher sell on the market.

Later Years, More Books

Since my late seventies, I have written and published eight more books of both fiction and nonfiction. Most recently in 2025, Life in a Flash, a book of short fiction and poetry, saw the light of day.

The Tough Side of Self-Publishing

Now for the not-so-good news. It’s much tougher to market and sell my own books. Being an introvert from birth and being now “of an age,” I’m not a skilled, energetic self-promoter. Plus, I do have to hire an editor, cover designer, and interior formatter. So, there’s the tradeoff. I start off in a financial deficit but get the pleasure of seeing my books in print as soon as they’re proof-read and set to go to press. Though I’m neither rich nor famous, I do manage to survive. To date, I have written and seen published seventeen books that are all available for sale today on various online outlets.

Words of Encouragement

I hope this article has encouraged you and other, let’s say, “more mature” authors to keep pumping out the books that are inside of you and demanding release. And I hope that you will join me in banning the word “quit” from your vocabulary.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alfred J. Garrotto’s range of literary and theatrical interests began at the age of seven, when he began working in Hollywood films as an “extra.” His adult fiction and nonfiction writings cover a variety of topics ranging from award-winning poetry to the arts and steamy romance novels. His newly published seventeenth book, Life in a Flash, features flash fiction and poetry. Visit him online at https://wisdomoflesmiserables.blogspot.com.

LIFE IN A FLASH

Whether writing fiction or poetry, our best creations burst forth when love escapes the prison of our critical minds and reluctant hearts… when an unplanned thought, word, or action flashes across the author’s mindscape having emerged from our hitherto muted, creative depths.
Both flash writing and poetry tap into that instinctive, unexpected inspiration that cries out for expression. Random thoughts give way to random words, till that moment—unspoken, undreamt—bubbles to life inside the author, who wonders, “Where did that come from?” Who knows where it came from? Who cares? Grasp the moment. Enjoy the ride.