My latest Golden Years novel, ‘Growing Old Disgracefully,’ will be published on 20th April. This is a book close to my heart and the inspiration is from my own life. I have every intention of ‘growing old disgracefully’ as this photo of myself and my husband Dave on New Years Eve shows. 

We are both in our early seventies and are so lucky to be surrounded by such amazing people over here in Spain, many of them in their sixties, seventies and eighties, who are all determined to live life to the full, squeeze every ounce of enjoyment out of their days and grow old disgracefully. They are a constant source of inspiration and fun, and always ready to have a party, go dancing, take part in a karaoke, go zip-wiring or for a motor bike ride.  One of our friends is in his eighties and is still DJ-ing. We often have themed parties, as in this photo of us both at a Hallowe’en party, which was the inspiration for the Hallowe’en party in the book.

I’ve read that house sharing is becoming more popular with seniors and I’m not at all surprised, it provides company, help with bills, supports independence, and helps combat loneliness. We’ve often joked with our friends about buying a house together so that we can look after each other when we are ‘really old’. What could be better than living with friends, having fun and sharing a bottle of wine or two? That was the inspiration for the story plot.

Not that’s what Nancy had planned for her older years but then her husband Clifford waltzes off with their joint savings, leaving only a note behind telling her that the mortgage won’t be paid off next year as she thought. With a shed load of debt and mortgage and bills to pay on only her part-time wage, Nancy decides that renting out her spare rooms is her only option. If she plays it safe and only has lodgers in their sixties – like herself – believing that there won’t be any drama. Then along comes life model Jackie, fortune teller Phyllis, and ageing rocker Marvin aka Slate who are determined to ‘grow old disgracefully’ and before long are encouraging Nancy to find her own wild side!

Finally, the inspiration for Slate’s rock band was our favourite rock band, New Tricks Spain. Here’s a photo of them in action.

Carry on ‘Growing Old Disgracefully’ everyone!