Let me tell you something about turning seventy. Nobody throws you a parade. There's no certificate that arrives in the mail congratulating you on making it this far. What you do get is a whole lot of people treating you like you're already halfway to the grave, speaking a little louder when they talk to you, asking if you need help with things, you've been doing perfectly well since you were six years old in 1955. Well, I've got news for everyone: I'm seventy years old, and I'm not dead yet. Not even close. My husband? Yes, he's dead. It's been five years now. And for a long time, too long, if I'm being honest, I acted as if I'd died right along with him. Wore my widow's weeds like they were sewn onto my skin. Became a professional mourner. An expert at being the sad woman at the end of the pew, the one people whispered about at church socials. "Poor thing," they'd say. "She's taking it so hard." And I was. God knows I was. Forty-eight years of marriage doesn't just evaporate because someone's heart stops beating. You don't just shake it off like water after a swim. But here's what I've figured out, sitting in this house that's too quiet, eating dinner at a table set for one, watching television shows he would have hated: I earned the right to have the life I want now. Not the life everyone thinks I should have. Not the life that looks appropriate for a woman my age. The life I want. George Burns, now there was a man who understood something about aging, once said, "You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old." I've got that quote taped to my bathroom mirror, right next to the magnifying mirror I use to pluck the chin hairs that have decided to throw a party on my face without my permission. Every morning, I look at those words, and I think: He's right. Getting older is mandatory. Getting old? That's a choice. And I'm choosing not to.

This thread is for authors in the Historical Fiction Genre to be able to meet and discuss topics and issues faced in this genre. If you are in this genre and you do not see your name listed, please comment below and tag me in it. Link to the Historical Fiction Member Database: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Xit4uXpX5x8MjCpfnUdP__ar8KnnkkgpAtGpmV89hWo/edit?usp=sharing ----------- @Jessica James @Sophie Perinot @Rebecca Phillips @Gary Olive @Sam Smith @Kate Wiseman @Keith Wood @Christopher Tradgett @Charlotte Fox @Fabian Foley @Margaret Moxom

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Hello, and thank you for inviting me to join. My latest book is a true murder, that happened in Llanrwst, North Wales, on Christmas Day, 1937. Caroline Williams was sentenced to hang for murdering her husband, but did she do it? I travelled to Kew Archives to take photos of four boxes they have on the case, then had the fun task of turning this into a novel! I also did a talk in December last, actually in Llanrwst, where the murder took place. It went down well with the audience bringing their copies of the book to me to be signed, which was quite thrilling. Anyway, if I've got your interest, the book is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Llanrwst-Christmas-Not-Worth-Dying/dp/B0FT8JW1QP/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0