November 19, 2025 • 27 mins
Ever wondered how a former CFO ends up writing paranormal novels? Join Cathy and Merry as they chat with Kirsten Marion, who took a daring leap from finance to fiction. What sparked this transformation? A move to Moscow, a reassessment of life, and a childhood passion rekindled! Kirsten dives into the world of paranormal fiction, explaining how she brings magic into the mundane and champions older female protagonists. She also shares the nitty-gritty of self-publishing, from marketing strategies to tackling self-doubt. Feeling stuck? Kirsten’s advice on revisiting childhood dreams might just be your key to unlocking new paths. Tune in to discover how Kirsten found fulfillment in her new career and how you can too. Join us for an inspiring tale of reinvention and empowerment!
About Kirsten
I’m a recovering corporate executive writing paranormal women’s fiction with a bit of class, and a lot of sass, for anyone who feels age is just a number. My Rowanswood Crones series explores what happens when midlife meets magic, and when ordinary women discover extraordinary power at the very moment life expects them to shrink. I live on the southwestern tip of Canada.
Connect with Kirsten
Website: https://kirstenmarion.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirstenlmarion/
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@kirstenlmarion
https://bsky.app/profile/kirsten-marion.bsky.social
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kirsten Marion (00:01):
This is the EWN Podcast Network.
Cathy Worthington (00:14):
Welcome to Late Boomers, our podcast guide
to creating your third act withstyle, power, and impact. Hi.
I'm Kathy Worthington.
Merry Elkins (00:24):
And I'm Mary Elkins. Join us as we bring you
conversations withentrepreneurs, entertainers, and
people with vision who aremaking a difference in the
world.
Cathy Worthington (00:34):
Everyone has a story, and we'll take you
along for the ride on eachinterview, recounting the
journey our guests have taken toget where they are, inspiring
you to create your own path tosuccess. Let's get started.
Welcome to the late boomers podcast where
(00:55):
we bring you inspiring storiesof people creating new chapters
in life with style, power, andimpact. I'm Kathy Worthington.
Merry Elkins (01:04):
And I'm Mary Elkins. And today, we have a
fascinating guest who'sreinvented herself as a novelist
after a career in finance.Kirsten Marion writes paranormal
fiction and has some incredibleinsights for anyone looking to
start a new chapter in theirlife. And I love paranormal, by
the way.
Cathy Worthington (01:24):
Oh, good. We love exploring how our guests
take risks, transform theircareers, and pursue their
passions.
Merry Elkins (01:32):
And today, we'll touch on topics like creativity,
self publishing, overcoming selfdoubt, and how to get into a
productive author mindset. Allof this is part of what makes
reinvention exciting andpossible.
Cathy Worthington (01:48):
Plus, we'll dig into how to navigate fear
and paralysis when consideringbig life changes. Kirsten's
story is full of lessons foranyone thinking about a pivot.
Merry Elkins (01:59):
And we'll also get into her favorite tips for
getting started, stayingmotivated, and creating your own
path even when it feelsintimidating.
Cathy Worthington (02:07):
So let's bring Kirsten in.
Merry Elkins (02:10):
Kirsten Marion, welcome to the Late Boomers
podcast. You've made an amazingtransition from finance to
writing paranormal fiction.
Kirsten Marion (02:20):
Yeah. It it was quite a leap. Tell us about it.
Yeah. Sure.
I talk about reinvention a lotbecause my older characters in
my books are going through thisprocess of midlife reinvention.
(02:40):
Sometimes reinvention is chosen,and sometimes through various
life events, it's thrust uponyou. And that happened to me. I
was in a job that I loved. I wasthe CFO of a hospital.
(03:02):
And I really, really enjoyed it.My husband was a mining
executive, and there are nomines in Toronto. There are
corporate offices, but he wassent to run the Russian and
Central Asia operations out ofMoscow.
Cathy Worthington (03:23):
Mhmm.
Kirsten Marion (03:24):
So we tried doing the two country approach
for a while because we still hadteenage kids at home. And after
a while, when I got the youngestkid through the first year of
university, it became untenable,and I was faced with a choice of
(03:45):
my life as I knew it or mymarriage. Mhmm. And so quit the
job. Mhmm.
And I left for Moscow and livedin Moscow for a while. And
that's the big Moscow.
Cathy Worthington (04:02):
Yeah. That's huge.
Kirsten Marion (04:03):
It was huge. So suddenly, I had lost my identity
because my identity up untilthen was as an executive and as
a parent. The only unifyingfactor was my husband who still
traveled a bit, so that wasn'tentirely helpful. And I got to
(04:26):
take my dog. Thank god.
Mhmm. But when you're forcedinto a situation like that, when
everything is torn down, itgives you a blank slate to think
about. Well, okay. What am Igonna do now? Because the worst
thing you can do is fightreality.
(04:48):
And fighting reality would havemeant saying, it shouldn't be
like this. It should bedifferent. So accepting reality
and what I had to work with. SoI had always wanted to write. I
started writing my own littlebooks when I was about eight
years old, heavily influenced bythe borrowers at the time, so I
(05:09):
was always fantasy driven.
And I thought, well, I havetime. I have space. I will start
writing again.
Merry Elkins (05:21):
And
Kirsten Marion (05:23):
I did. And I joined an online writing group,
and I met people there thatbecame longtime friends now. And
that also led to the next step,which was when we returned to
Canada, one of the members ofthe writing group had started a
(05:44):
small publishing company that Ithen bought into. And then so I
worked as a publisher for a fewyears. Now I'm phasing out of
that to focus more full time onmy own writing.
Merry Elkins (06:01):
Mhmm.
Kirsten Marion (06:02):
So that's how I got from corporate CFO to then
publisher to now author.
Cathy Worthington (06:09):
That's great. What what led you to choose
paranormal fiction as yourpreferred genre? And tell us a
little bit about your books,Sheik, Crone, and your Roan's
Wood series and the new one too.
Kirsten Marion (06:23):
Well, I like reading paranormal fiction, and
they say write what you know.Yeah. So I think Mary and I have
have that in common. I also likethe idea of writing older female
main characters. And paranormalfiction is starting to have more
(06:48):
of those, midlife, characters init.
I I think it's an underusedmarket. I mean, the last baby
boomer turned 60 last year.Mhmm. So there's a lot of us.
There's a lot of us women thatjust aren't represented very
(07:11):
well in, in fiction.
Mhmm. And you're very right. Andcertainly not as coming into
power. You know? If you did seean older female character
before, she was on the on thedownslope, if you know what I
(07:33):
mean.
Cathy Worthington (07:33):
For sure.
Kirsten Marion (07:34):
Or or she was a a mom or whatever.
Cathy Worthington (07:39):
Those of us that don't know the genre, can
you elaborate what are thecharacteristics of paranormal
fiction? I don't reallyunderstand the name.
Kirsten Marion (07:50):
Okay. Paranormal well, there's in fantasy,
there's paranormal, and there'shigh fantasy. Paranormal is set
in our world but with magicalcomponents.
Merry Elkins (08:03):
Wow.
Kirsten Marion (08:03):
Okay? High fantasy would be Lord of the
Rings or Right. Discworld orsomething that you've created a
whole different whole differentworld. So paranormal fiction
often has, like, the werewolf,the vampire, the witch, the
Mhmm. The mythical creatures.
Merry Elkins (08:27):
Mhmm.
Kirsten Marion (08:27):
So that's what Oh. Paranormal
Merry Elkins (08:30):
Well, thought that the the high fantasy was more
the creatures.
Kirsten Marion (08:41):
High fantasy is in a different world. Okay.
That's the main definingfeature. It has created a a
different world altogether.Okay.
Paranormal as I understand it,and lord knows somebody out
there is gonna correct me, but
Merry Elkins (09:00):
Always, everybody.
Kirsten Marion (09:01):
Always. It has real world components.
Cathy Worthington (09:06):
Right. Yeah. Okay.
Kirsten Marion (09:08):
I got it.
Cathy Worthington (09:10):
But tell us a little bit about the books that
you have out now.
Kirsten Marion (09:14):
Okay. So the sheep crone is the first book in
the series, and it's that one.And it starts off my main
character. Her husband dies. Shediscovers his mistress of twenty
(09:36):
years has actually borne him asecond family.
There is no money. He has spentall the money. She's broke,
loses her house in London, andgets a mysterious letter from a
long dead grandmother that shehas inherited a house in
Rowanswood. And she starts inher rage at the way she's been
(10:02):
treated, it starts coming out asfire magic, which she doesn't
understand at all. So the firstbook is her making the change
from London to this enchantedvillage in Cornwall.
Merry Elkins (10:21):
Ah, I know Cornwall.
Kirsten Marion (10:23):
Finally this finally being forced to accept
reality, accept that things havechanged, and step into her life,
which means stepping into hernew power. Mhmm. So that's the
gist of it. It's it's cozyfantasy. It's not graphic or
(10:49):
violent or it's quite funny inspots.
And I've I've written it hopingto encourage other women to feel
that as they get older, they canstill get more powerful. Age
does not mean being less than ora diminution in power.
Merry Elkins (11:11):
That's what our podcast is about.
Kirsten Marion (11:15):
Mhmm. Mhmm. And it's never too late. It is never
too late to try something new
Cathy Worthington (11:21):
Mhmm.
Kirsten Marion (11:21):
To step more fully into yourself and into
your power.
Cathy Worthington (11:27):
Excellent.
Merry Elkins (11:29):
Tell us more about your oh, I was going to say tell
us more about your Rowanswoodseries.
Kirsten Marion (11:35):
Well, that's the first book in the series. The
second book is Cone of Flames,
Merry Elkins (11:42):
and
Kirsten Marion (11:43):
it picks up where the first book left off
because there were a fewcliffhangers in the first book
for which I am profoundlyboring. I'm getting better at
that.
Cathy Worthington (11:59):
Don't think you to be sorry about
cliffhangers. I think it's whatkeeps people interested. That's
Well,
Kirsten Marion (12:05):
it's fine when there's a second book for them
to go on to right away. It's notso fine when they're going
Merry Elkins (12:12):
So you had to write the second book?
Kirsten Marion (12:15):
Oh, yeah. And I had to write it quickly. The
first book came out in March,and the second book comes out
October.
Merry Elkins (12:24):
Halloween.
Kirsten Marion (12:25):
Yeah. Well, it's also Samhain, the pagan holiday
of Samhain, which is a holidaywhere the veil thins between the
living and the dead. Uh-huh. Andthat's where Halloween comes
from. Love that.
(12:47):
There's a Mexican holiday that'sabout the same thing. But again,
I'm gonna say the name wrong, soI won't
Merry Elkins (12:59):
say That's okay. I actually would love to know what
every author should know aboutself publishing.
Kirsten Marion (13:08):
Ah. Well, it's quite different from traditional
publishing, as I learned, comingfrom traditional publishing to
self publishing. The first thingis you have to learn how to wear
a lot of different hats. Mhmm.You have to you have to do your
own marketing.
You have to build your ownaudience, which sounds daunting.
Cathy Worthington (13:35):
Mhmm.
Kirsten Marion (13:35):
But it's not. I've I've learned how to really
streamline my process and focuson what's effective, the
simplest, most effective way tobuild my community. And the
other thing is I have learned toget editors. I've learned to do
(14:00):
my own book formatting. Oh.
Get get covers, cover creation.It's Well, how do
Merry Elkins (14:11):
you have
Kirsten Marion (14:12):
time to write? Business. I always aside from
writing, I try to find theeasiest way to do something,
quite frankly.
Merry Elkins (14:23):
Mhmm. Mhmm.
Cathy Worthington (14:24):
So Good idea.
Kirsten Marion (14:25):
Yeah. We talked a little bit about social media
off offline. And one of thereasons why I don't spend any
time on traditional social medialike Facebook, Instagram,
Twitter Mhmm. Or X or whateverit's called now. Yeah.
Is because it is so ephemeral.Right? You don't know if you're
(14:50):
reaching your audience. Youdon't know if you're getting
your message out, and it'sreally hard to build a community
these days Yeah. On social onthat social media.
And it exposes you to a lot ofreally unpleasant stuff these
days that I I don't need. So I'mfocused on the marketing that I
(15:16):
consider to be evergreen, thatlasts a long time, or where you
own your audience. So the firstis building an email list.
Merry Elkins (15:28):
Oh. Mhmm.
Kirsten Marion (15:29):
And I do that by learning about how to put a call
to action in the back matter ofmy books.
Merry Elkins (15:37):
Oh, I see.
Kirsten Marion (15:38):
Sign up for
Merry Elkins (15:39):
my newsletter. Did that.
Kirsten Marion (15:41):
Yeah. Sign up for my newsletter and get a free
story, and that starts to buildthe email list. Mhmm. And is it
okay if I mention a companyname? Sure.
Sure. I'm not affiliated withany of the companies I
mentioned. Sure. I will saythat.
Merry Elkins (15:59):
Go ahead.
Kirsten Marion (16:00):
But Written Word Media is an American company, I
think, based in Carolinas, Andthey have various programs, one
of which is called a subscribersearch giveaway. And I signed up
for one of those for my fantasybook. You have to pick your
(16:22):
genre, and they put together 20books that they offer as a
package for people to win as agiveaway for giving, knowingly,
the authors the email address tosign up. Got hundreds hundreds
of subscribers that way.
Merry Elkins (16:42):
Wow. Oh, fabulous.
Kirsten Marion (16:45):
The retention has been really good.
Cathy Worthington (16:48):
Perfect. That's really great.
Kirsten Marion (16:50):
Yeah.
Cathy Worthington (16:50):
So between What do tell writers that
struggle with self doubt? Youknow, what advice would you give
a writer experiencing that?
Kirsten Marion (17:00):
That never goes never goes away. That never goes
No. No. And it's
Cathy Worthington (17:06):
not you.
Kirsten Marion (17:08):
It's not you. It's just It's everybody.
Function. It's it is everybody,but it's also a function of
being a creative becausecreating something is so
personal. You know?
And it you're writing a book. Itfeels like your baby, your
child. And if somebodycriticizes it, well but you have
(17:34):
to detach from your work andyour self worth. That's what I
would say first.
Cathy Worthington (17:40):
Oh, detach.
Kirsten Marion (17:41):
Yeah. Yeah. Is tend to conflate. We yes.
Merry Elkins (17:46):
Especially if you've written a memoir.
Kirsten Marion (17:49):
Yes. Because that is super personal. But if
if you're just writing not just,but if you're writing nonfiction
or or fiction that isn't aspersonal as a memoir. The book
has nothing to do with your selfworth, and Stephen King gets one
(18:10):
star reviews. You know?
Sure. There there is no authorout there that everybody loves.
Mhmm. The people who love youwill yeah. It's like movies or
anything else.
So you have to go into it Ithink with the belief that it's
(18:32):
not personal.
Merry Elkins (18:34):
Hard to do. Know when I'm working, I have to
remember every person has avoice, and every voice is
different. However, then youread all the great authors and
you think, Oh my God, how do Ido that? So it's quite telling.
How do you get into a productiveauthor mindset then, and
(18:58):
especially when your motivationis low or when you're doubting
yourself or you don't have a lotof self worth that day?
How do you get into thatmindset?
Kirsten Marion (19:11):
Write 25 words.
Merry Elkins (19:13):
25?
Kirsten Marion (19:14):
Just sit down. Yep. That works for me because
by the time I've written 25, I'mgoing, Oh, I know what to say
next.
Merry Elkins (19:22):
It's And you actually count them?
Kirsten Marion (19:27):
Well, I have a pretty good idea what 25 looks
like now, but the point is thatI sit down and I say, I only
have to write this much today.Okay? Because it's the smallest
number that I can come up withthat will prime the pump as it
were. But once I'm actuallysitting in the chair Yeah. It's
(19:50):
it's funny.
When you put yourself in theenvironment of doing the work,
it's easier to just keep doingit. It's the old laws of
inertia, an object in motionstays in motion. Mhmm.
Cathy Worthington (20:04):
Well, for our listeners on a slightly
different subject, because Iknow you're well versed in this,
but people that arecontemplating big life changes,
what advice would you givesomeone who's terrified or
paralyzed by the prospect?
Kirsten Marion (20:22):
First thing is to actually go back. If you have
an option as to where you go.Okay? Okay. You can't stay where
you are.
That's been taken away from you,but you have an option of where
you go from here. Think aboutwhat you loved best, what you
(20:45):
wanted to do between the ages ofeight and 11.
Merry Elkins (20:50):
Ah. There's
Kirsten Marion (20:51):
something about that age group that is really
pure for what your heart wantsbecause you haven't yet had the
world beat into you what youshould do. So I would revisit
(21:12):
that part of you and just spendsome time exploring. Well, what
if? And and if this is what Iwant, how can I start from where
I am? I love that.
Reverse engineer.
Merry Elkins (21:27):
What if Yeah. They say that to all writers. I know.
What and you wanted to be awriter at eight. Kathy, what did
you want?
Cathy Worthington (21:35):
Horses. I got them, and I did that. I bred
horses. I rode horses, but I wasliving and breathing horses.
Merry Elkins (21:46):
I wanted to be two things. I wanted to be on
Broadway, and I wanted to be aveterinarian. They're a little
different. So Kirsten, so youkind of answered this question
about where a new author shouldfocus their energy first,
especially if they'reoverwhelmed. But perhaps you
(22:07):
could elaborate on that?
Kirsten Marion (22:09):
Pick a type of story that you're most
interested in. Like, we talkedabout picking paranormal
fiction. Read it. Mhmm. See seehow it beats out.
You know? Mhmm. You can makeyourself a road map. Save the
Cat Writes a Novel is a greatbook for a beginning author
Cathy Worthington (22:34):
because it explains. Yeah. Save the cat.
Kirsten Marion (22:39):
Yeah. It they've written a numb yeah. Save the
cat has written a number ofdifferent books, one for writing
a screenplay, and this one forwriting a novel. I found it
really useful because it itgives a road map, and you can
break it down into if you'rewriting, like, a quest or or the
(23:04):
hero's journey, for example,that breaks down into 12
definite segments that the herogoes through on that journey. So
you can kind of beat out whatyour book is gonna look like,
and then you just start fillingin and filling in and filling
(23:24):
in.
But having that structure, Ifound for me, gave me some
comfort, and I wasn't going,well, I have no idea where to
start. I don't know what to dohere.
Merry Elkins (23:40):
Because most books are written in that structure.
Kirsten Marion (23:44):
Well, they're written in several different
structures, but Save the Catgoes through the different the
different types.
Cathy Worthington (23:54):
Different methods.
Kirsten Marion (23:55):
Different methods, depending on what type
of book you're trying to towrite.
Cathy Worthington (24:01):
And, Kirsten, what would you say from your
experience in talking to peopleand writing? What's the most
rewarding part of reinventingyourself at a later stage in
life?
Kirsten Marion (24:18):
It's finally finding yourself.
Cathy Worthington (24:23):
Mhmm.
Kirsten Marion (24:25):
It's coming back to who you really are. I think
it's that reinvention is morepeeling back the layers that
social expectation, parents,school, work, all the external
expectations that have been puton you. You have a choice of
(24:48):
peeling them back because youreally cease to care so much
about what other people think.At least that's been my
experience. Yeah.
And you have much more freedomto write your own script. Oh. Do
(25:09):
those things you always wantedto do.
Merry Elkins (25:13):
That's true. Are are you finding that you feel
happier and more joyful in thiscareer versus finance?
Kirsten Marion (25:23):
I loved finance, but this is more who I am.
Cathy Worthington (25:28):
Mhmm.
Kirsten Marion (25:29):
I was good at finance, but this is more I feel
more grounded now, more justcomfortable in my own skin than
I ever have.
Merry Elkins (25:39):
Mhmm. That's
Kirsten Marion (25:40):
great. Despite the skin not being what it was
at 25 or 30.
Cathy Worthington (25:45):
Tell me about it.
Merry Elkins (25:47):
That's true. Absolutely. It's one of those
things when you look in themirror and you go, What
happened? Anyway, Kirsten, thankyou so much for joining us on
Late Boomers and sharing yourjourney. Very, very powerful.
Cathy Worthington (26:02):
Yes. We enjoyed your story, and I'm sure
our listeners will feelmotivated to take some new steps
forward.
Merry Elkins (26:11):
So for everybody listening, remember as Kirsten
said, it's never too late tostart something new and take a
page from her book literally andfiguratively. And Kirstin, would
you tell our listeners what yourwebsite is?
Kirsten Marion (26:27):
Yeah. It's kirstinmarion.com.
Merry Elkins (26:31):
That's kirstinmari0n.
Cathy Worthington (26:36):
N. See? Nope. I knew that. R s t e n m a r I o
n.
Kirsten Marion (26:46):
That's it.
Cathy Worthington (26:47):
And don't forget to check out the late
boomers podcast on our website,lateboomers.us for more stories
of reinvention and inspiration.Thank you so much for joining us
on late boomers today.
(27:10):
Thank you for joining us on late boomers, the
podcast that is your guide tocreating a third act with style,
power, and impact. Please visitour website and get in touch
with us at lateboomers.us. Ifyou would like to listen to or
download other episodes of lateboomers, go to
ewnpodcastnetwork.com.
Merry Elkins (27:33):
This podcast is also available on Spotify, Apple
Podcast, and most other majorpodcast sites. We hope you make
use of the wisdom you've gainedhere and that you enjoy a
successful third act with yourown style, power, and impact.
This is the EWN Podcast Network.
Cathy Worthington (00:14):
Welcome to Late Boomers, our podcast guide
to creating your third act withstyle, power, and impact. Hi.
I'm Kathy Worthington.
Merry Elkins (00:24):
And I'm Mary Elkins. Join us as we bring you
conversations withentrepreneurs, entertainers, and
people with vision who aremaking a difference in the
world.
Cathy Worthington (00:34):
Everyone has a story, and we'll take you
along for the ride on eachinterview, recounting the
journey our guests have taken toget where they are, inspiring
you to create your own path tosuccess. Let's get started.
Welcome to the late boomers podcast where
(00:55):
we bring you inspiring storiesof people creating new chapters
in life with style, power, andimpact. I'm Kathy Worthington.
Merry Elkins (01:04):
And I'm Mary Elkins. And today, we have a
fascinating guest who'sreinvented herself as a novelist
after a career in finance.Kirsten Marion writes paranormal
fiction and has some incredibleinsights for anyone looking to
start a new chapter in theirlife. And I love paranormal, by
the way.
Cathy Worthington (01:24):
Oh, good. We love exploring how our guests
take risks, transform theircareers, and pursue their
passions.
Merry Elkins (01:32):
And today, we'll touch on topics like creativity,
self publishing, overcoming selfdoubt, and how to get into a
productive author mindset. Allof this is part of what makes
reinvention exciting andpossible.
Cathy Worthington (01:48):
Plus, we'll dig into how to navigate fear
and paralysis when consideringbig life changes. Kirsten's
story is full of lessons foranyone thinking about a pivot.
Merry Elkins (01:59):
And we'll also get into her favorite tips for
getting started, stayingmotivated, and creating your own
path even when it feelsintimidating.
Cathy Worthington (02:07):
So let's bring Kirsten in.
Merry Elkins (02:10):
Kirsten Marion, welcome to the Late Boomers
podcast. You've made an amazingtransition from finance to
writing paranormal fiction.
Kirsten Marion (02:20):
Yeah. It it was quite a leap. Tell us about it.
Yeah. Sure.
I talk about reinvention a lotbecause my older characters in
my books are going through thisprocess of midlife reinvention.
(02:40):
Sometimes reinvention is chosen,and sometimes through various
life events, it's thrust uponyou. And that happened to me. I
was in a job that I loved. I wasthe CFO of a hospital.
(03:02):
And I really, really enjoyed it.My husband was a mining
executive, and there are nomines in Toronto. There are
corporate offices, but he wassent to run the Russian and
Central Asia operations out ofMoscow.
Cathy Worthington (03:23):
Mhmm.
Kirsten Marion (03:24):
So we tried doing the two country approach
for a while because we still hadteenage kids at home. And after
a while, when I got the youngestkid through the first year of
university, it became untenable,and I was faced with a choice of
(03:45):
my life as I knew it or mymarriage. Mhmm. And so quit the
job. Mhmm.
And I left for Moscow and livedin Moscow for a while. And
that's the big Moscow.
Cathy Worthington (04:02):
Yeah. That's huge.
Kirsten Marion (04:03):
It was huge. So suddenly, I had lost my identity
because my identity up untilthen was as an executive and as
a parent. The only unifyingfactor was my husband who still
traveled a bit, so that wasn'tentirely helpful. And I got to
(04:26):
take my dog. Thank god.
Mhmm. But when you're forcedinto a situation like that, when
everything is torn down, itgives you a blank slate to think
about. Well, okay. What am Igonna do now? Because the worst
thing you can do is fightreality.
(04:48):
And fighting reality would havemeant saying, it shouldn't be
like this. It should bedifferent. So accepting reality
and what I had to work with. SoI had always wanted to write. I
started writing my own littlebooks when I was about eight
years old, heavily influenced bythe borrowers at the time, so I
(05:09):
was always fantasy driven.
And I thought, well, I havetime. I have space. I will start
writing again.
Merry Elkins (05:21):
And
Kirsten Marion (05:23):
I did. And I joined an online writing group,
and I met people there thatbecame longtime friends now. And
that also led to the next step,which was when we returned to
Canada, one of the members ofthe writing group had started a
(05:44):
small publishing company that Ithen bought into. And then so I
worked as a publisher for a fewyears. Now I'm phasing out of
that to focus more full time onmy own writing.
Merry Elkins (06:01):
Mhmm.
Kirsten Marion (06:02):
So that's how I got from corporate CFO to then
publisher to now author.
Cathy Worthington (06:09):
That's great. What what led you to choose
paranormal fiction as yourpreferred genre? And tell us a
little bit about your books,Sheik, Crone, and your Roan's
Wood series and the new one too.
Kirsten Marion (06:23):
Well, I like reading paranormal fiction, and
they say write what you know.Yeah. So I think Mary and I have
have that in common. I also likethe idea of writing older female
main characters. And paranormalfiction is starting to have more
(06:48):
of those, midlife, characters init.
I I think it's an underusedmarket. I mean, the last baby
boomer turned 60 last year.Mhmm. So there's a lot of us.
There's a lot of us women thatjust aren't represented very
(07:11):
well in, in fiction.
Mhmm. And you're very right. Andcertainly not as coming into
power. You know? If you did seean older female character
before, she was on the on thedownslope, if you know what I
(07:33):
mean.
Cathy Worthington (07:33):
For sure.
Kirsten Marion (07:34):
Or or she was a a mom or whatever.
Cathy Worthington (07:39):
Those of us that don't know the genre, can
you elaborate what are thecharacteristics of paranormal
fiction? I don't reallyunderstand the name.
Kirsten Marion (07:50):
Okay. Paranormal well, there's in fantasy,
there's paranormal, and there'shigh fantasy. Paranormal is set
in our world but with magicalcomponents.
Merry Elkins (08:03):
Wow.
Kirsten Marion (08:03):
Okay? High fantasy would be Lord of the
Rings or Right. Discworld orsomething that you've created a
whole different whole differentworld. So paranormal fiction
often has, like, the werewolf,the vampire, the witch, the
Mhmm. The mythical creatures.
Merry Elkins (08:27):
Mhmm.
Kirsten Marion (08:27):
So that's what Oh. Paranormal
Merry Elkins (08:30):
Well, thought that the the high fantasy was more
the creatures.
Kirsten Marion (08:41):
High fantasy is in a different world. Okay.
That's the main definingfeature. It has created a a
different world altogether.Okay.
Paranormal as I understand it,and lord knows somebody out
there is gonna correct me, but
Merry Elkins (09:00):
Always, everybody.
Kirsten Marion (09:01):
Always. It has real world components.
Cathy Worthington (09:06):
Right. Yeah. Okay.
Kirsten Marion (09:08):
I got it.
Cathy Worthington (09:10):
But tell us a little bit about the books that
you have out now.
Kirsten Marion (09:14):
Okay. So the sheep crone is the first book in
the series, and it's that one.And it starts off my main
character. Her husband dies. Shediscovers his mistress of twenty
(09:36):
years has actually borne him asecond family.
There is no money. He has spentall the money. She's broke,
loses her house in London, andgets a mysterious letter from a
long dead grandmother that shehas inherited a house in
Rowanswood. And she starts inher rage at the way she's been
(10:02):
treated, it starts coming out asfire magic, which she doesn't
understand at all. So the firstbook is her making the change
from London to this enchantedvillage in Cornwall.
Merry Elkins (10:21):
Ah, I know Cornwall.
Kirsten Marion (10:23):
Finally this finally being forced to accept
reality, accept that things havechanged, and step into her life,
which means stepping into hernew power. Mhmm. So that's the
gist of it. It's it's cozyfantasy. It's not graphic or
(10:49):
violent or it's quite funny inspots.
And I've I've written it hopingto encourage other women to feel
that as they get older, they canstill get more powerful. Age
does not mean being less than ora diminution in power.
Merry Elkins (11:11):
That's what our podcast is about.
Kirsten Marion (11:15):
Mhmm. Mhmm. And it's never too late. It is never
too late to try something new
Cathy Worthington (11:21):
Mhmm.
Kirsten Marion (11:21):
To step more fully into yourself and into
your power.
Cathy Worthington (11:27):
Excellent.
Merry Elkins (11:29):
Tell us more about your oh, I was going to say tell
us more about your Rowanswoodseries.
Kirsten Marion (11:35):
Well, that's the first book in the series. The
second book is Cone of Flames,
Merry Elkins (11:42):
and
Kirsten Marion (11:43):
it picks up where the first book left off
because there were a fewcliffhangers in the first book
for which I am profoundlyboring. I'm getting better at
that.
Cathy Worthington (11:59):
Don't think you to be sorry about
cliffhangers. I think it's whatkeeps people interested. That's
Well,
Kirsten Marion (12:05):
it's fine when there's a second book for them
to go on to right away. It's notso fine when they're going
Merry Elkins (12:12):
So you had to write the second book?
Kirsten Marion (12:15):
Oh, yeah. And I had to write it quickly. The
first book came out in March,and the second book comes out
October.
Merry Elkins (12:24):
Halloween.
Kirsten Marion (12:25):
Yeah. Well, it's also Samhain, the pagan holiday
of Samhain, which is a holidaywhere the veil thins between the
living and the dead. Uh-huh. Andthat's where Halloween comes
from. Love that.
(12:47):
There's a Mexican holiday that'sabout the same thing. But again,
I'm gonna say the name wrong, soI won't
Merry Elkins (12:59):
say That's okay. I actually would love to know what
every author should know aboutself publishing.
Kirsten Marion (13:08):
Ah. Well, it's quite different from traditional
publishing, as I learned, comingfrom traditional publishing to
self publishing. The first thingis you have to learn how to wear
a lot of different hats. Mhmm.You have to you have to do your
own marketing.
You have to build your ownaudience, which sounds daunting.
Cathy Worthington (13:35):
Mhmm.
Kirsten Marion (13:35):
But it's not. I've I've learned how to really
streamline my process and focuson what's effective, the
simplest, most effective way tobuild my community. And the
other thing is I have learned toget editors. I've learned to do
(14:00):
my own book formatting. Oh.
Get get covers, cover creation.It's Well, how do
Merry Elkins (14:11):
you have
Kirsten Marion (14:12):
time to write? Business. I always aside from
writing, I try to find theeasiest way to do something,
quite frankly.
Merry Elkins (14:23):
Mhmm. Mhmm.
Cathy Worthington (14:24):
So Good idea.
Kirsten Marion (14:25):
Yeah. We talked a little bit about social media
off offline. And one of thereasons why I don't spend any
time on traditional social medialike Facebook, Instagram,
Twitter Mhmm. Or X or whateverit's called now. Yeah.
Is because it is so ephemeral.Right? You don't know if you're
(14:50):
reaching your audience. Youdon't know if you're getting
your message out, and it'sreally hard to build a community
these days Yeah. On social onthat social media.
And it exposes you to a lot ofreally unpleasant stuff these
days that I I don't need. So I'mfocused on the marketing that I
(15:16):
consider to be evergreen, thatlasts a long time, or where you
own your audience. So the firstis building an email list.
Merry Elkins (15:28):
Oh. Mhmm.
Kirsten Marion (15:29):
And I do that by learning about how to put a call
to action in the back matter ofmy books.
Merry Elkins (15:37):
Oh, I see.
Kirsten Marion (15:38):
Sign up for
Merry Elkins (15:39):
my newsletter. Did that.
Kirsten Marion (15:41):
Yeah. Sign up for my newsletter and get a free
story, and that starts to buildthe email list. Mhmm. And is it
okay if I mention a companyname? Sure.
Sure. I'm not affiliated withany of the companies I
mentioned. Sure. I will saythat.
Merry Elkins (15:59):
Go ahead.
Kirsten Marion (16:00):
But Written Word Media is an American company, I
think, based in Carolinas, Andthey have various programs, one
of which is called a subscribersearch giveaway. And I signed up
for one of those for my fantasybook. You have to pick your
(16:22):
genre, and they put together 20books that they offer as a
package for people to win as agiveaway for giving, knowingly,
the authors the email address tosign up. Got hundreds hundreds
of subscribers that way.
Merry Elkins (16:42):
Wow. Oh, fabulous.
Kirsten Marion (16:45):
The retention has been really good.
Cathy Worthington (16:48):
Perfect. That's really great.
Kirsten Marion (16:50):
Yeah.
Cathy Worthington (16:50):
So between What do tell writers that
struggle with self doubt? Youknow, what advice would you give
a writer experiencing that?
Kirsten Marion (17:00):
That never goes never goes away. That never goes
No. No. And it's
Cathy Worthington (17:06):
not you.
Kirsten Marion (17:08):
It's not you. It's just It's everybody.
Function. It's it is everybody,but it's also a function of
being a creative becausecreating something is so
personal. You know?
And it you're writing a book. Itfeels like your baby, your
child. And if somebodycriticizes it, well but you have
(17:34):
to detach from your work andyour self worth. That's what I
would say first.
Cathy Worthington (17:40):
Oh, detach.
Kirsten Marion (17:41):
Yeah. Yeah. Is tend to conflate. We yes.
Merry Elkins (17:46):
Especially if you've written a memoir.
Kirsten Marion (17:49):
Yes. Because that is super personal. But if
if you're just writing not just,but if you're writing nonfiction
or or fiction that isn't aspersonal as a memoir. The book
has nothing to do with your selfworth, and Stephen King gets one
(18:10):
star reviews. You know?
Sure. There there is no authorout there that everybody loves.
Mhmm. The people who love youwill yeah. It's like movies or
anything else.
So you have to go into it Ithink with the belief that it's
(18:32):
not personal.
Merry Elkins (18:34):
Hard to do. Know when I'm working, I have to
remember every person has avoice, and every voice is
different. However, then youread all the great authors and
you think, Oh my God, how do Ido that? So it's quite telling.
How do you get into a productiveauthor mindset then, and
(18:58):
especially when your motivationis low or when you're doubting
yourself or you don't have a lotof self worth that day?
How do you get into thatmindset?
Kirsten Marion (19:11):
Write 25 words.
Merry Elkins (19:13):
25?
Kirsten Marion (19:14):
Just sit down. Yep. That works for me because
by the time I've written 25, I'mgoing, Oh, I know what to say
next.
Merry Elkins (19:22):
It's And you actually count them?
Kirsten Marion (19:27):
Well, I have a pretty good idea what 25 looks
like now, but the point is thatI sit down and I say, I only
have to write this much today.Okay? Because it's the smallest
number that I can come up withthat will prime the pump as it
were. But once I'm actuallysitting in the chair Yeah. It's
(19:50):
it's funny.
When you put yourself in theenvironment of doing the work,
it's easier to just keep doingit. It's the old laws of
inertia, an object in motionstays in motion. Mhmm.
Cathy Worthington (20:04):
Well, for our listeners on a slightly
different subject, because Iknow you're well versed in this,
but people that arecontemplating big life changes,
what advice would you givesomeone who's terrified or
paralyzed by the prospect?
Kirsten Marion (20:22):
First thing is to actually go back. If you have
an option as to where you go.Okay? Okay. You can't stay where
you are.
That's been taken away from you,but you have an option of where
you go from here. Think aboutwhat you loved best, what you
(20:45):
wanted to do between the ages ofeight and 11.
Merry Elkins (20:50):
Ah. There's
Kirsten Marion (20:51):
something about that age group that is really
pure for what your heart wantsbecause you haven't yet had the
world beat into you what youshould do. So I would revisit
(21:12):
that part of you and just spendsome time exploring. Well, what
if? And and if this is what Iwant, how can I start from where
I am? I love that.
Reverse engineer.
Merry Elkins (21:27):
What if Yeah. They say that to all writers. I know.
What and you wanted to be awriter at eight. Kathy, what did
you want?
Cathy Worthington (21:35):
Horses. I got them, and I did that. I bred
horses. I rode horses, but I wasliving and breathing horses.
Merry Elkins (21:46):
I wanted to be two things. I wanted to be on
Broadway, and I wanted to be aveterinarian. They're a little
different. So Kirsten, so youkind of answered this question
about where a new author shouldfocus their energy first,
especially if they'reoverwhelmed. But perhaps you
(22:07):
could elaborate on that?
Kirsten Marion (22:09):
Pick a type of story that you're most
interested in. Like, we talkedabout picking paranormal
fiction. Read it. Mhmm. See seehow it beats out.
You know? Mhmm. You can makeyourself a road map. Save the
Cat Writes a Novel is a greatbook for a beginning author
Cathy Worthington (22:34):
because it explains. Yeah. Save the cat.
Kirsten Marion (22:39):
Yeah. It they've written a numb yeah. Save the
cat has written a number ofdifferent books, one for writing
a screenplay, and this one forwriting a novel. I found it
really useful because it itgives a road map, and you can
break it down into if you'rewriting, like, a quest or or the
(23:04):
hero's journey, for example,that breaks down into 12
definite segments that the herogoes through on that journey. So
you can kind of beat out whatyour book is gonna look like,
and then you just start fillingin and filling in and filling
(23:24):
in.
But having that structure, Ifound for me, gave me some
comfort, and I wasn't going,well, I have no idea where to
start. I don't know what to dohere.
Merry Elkins (23:40):
Because most books are written in that structure.
Kirsten Marion (23:44):
Well, they're written in several different
structures, but Save the Catgoes through the different the
different types.
Cathy Worthington (23:54):
Different methods.
Kirsten Marion (23:55):
Different methods, depending on what type
of book you're trying to towrite.
Cathy Worthington (24:01):
And, Kirsten, what would you say from your
experience in talking to peopleand writing? What's the most
rewarding part of reinventingyourself at a later stage in
life?
Kirsten Marion (24:18):
It's finally finding yourself.
Cathy Worthington (24:23):
Mhmm.
Kirsten Marion (24:25):
It's coming back to who you really are. I think
it's that reinvention is morepeeling back the layers that
social expectation, parents,school, work, all the external
expectations that have been puton you. You have a choice of
(24:48):
peeling them back because youreally cease to care so much
about what other people think.At least that's been my
experience. Yeah.
And you have much more freedomto write your own script. Oh. Do
(25:09):
those things you always wantedto do.
Merry Elkins (25:13):
That's true. Are are you finding that you feel
happier and more joyful in thiscareer versus finance?
Kirsten Marion (25:23):
I loved finance, but this is more who I am.
Cathy Worthington (25:28):
Mhmm.
Kirsten Marion (25:29):
I was good at finance, but this is more I feel
more grounded now, more justcomfortable in my own skin than
I ever have.
Merry Elkins (25:39):
Mhmm. That's
Kirsten Marion (25:40):
great. Despite the skin not being what it was
at 25 or 30.
Cathy Worthington (25:45):
Tell me about it.
Merry Elkins (25:47):
That's true. Absolutely. It's one of those
things when you look in themirror and you go, What
happened? Anyway, Kirsten, thankyou so much for joining us on
Late Boomers and sharing yourjourney. Very, very powerful.
Cathy Worthington (26:02):
Yes. We enjoyed your story, and I'm sure
our listeners will feelmotivated to take some new steps
forward.
Merry Elkins (26:11):
So for everybody listening, remember as Kirsten
said, it's never too late tostart something new and take a
page from her book literally andfiguratively. And Kirstin, would
you tell our listeners what yourwebsite is?
Kirsten Marion (26:27):
Yeah. It's kirstinmarion.com.
Merry Elkins (26:31):
That's kirstinmari0n.
Cathy Worthington (26:36):
N. See? Nope. I knew that. R s t e n m a r I o
n.
Kirsten Marion (26:46):
That's it.
Cathy Worthington (26:47):
And don't forget to check out the late
boomers podcast on our website,lateboomers.us for more stories
of reinvention and inspiration.Thank you so much for joining us
on late boomers today.
(27:10):
Thank you for joining us on late boomers, the
podcast that is your guide tocreating a third act with style,
power, and impact. Please visitour website and get in touch
with us at lateboomers.us. Ifyou would like to listen to or
download other episodes of lateboomers, go to
ewnpodcastnetwork.com.
Merry Elkins (27:33):
This podcast is also available on Spotify, Apple
Podcast, and most other majorpodcast sites. We hope you make
use of the wisdom you've gainedhere and that you enjoy a
successful third act with yourown style, power, and impact.
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