Writing What She Knows: Stella Fosse on Biotech, Erotica and Older Women

Send us Fan Mail Stella Fosse was a teenager when she determined to publish her first book by the age of 25. That didn’t happen.   She published her first book at 68. And it was very different from her early aspirations. Join host Jane Trombley in conversation with Stella, a former Biotech writer who pivoted to “elderotica” — in both nonfiction and as a thread throughout her novels.   During a 25-year career as a tech writer, Stella focused on writing, submitting applications, and gaining FDA approval for Biotech products.  Along the way, she joined a group of women authors reading their erotic essays featuring powerful female central characters. Stella began to dabble in the genre, participating in writing and reading her work, what she called “elderotica.”  It was time to pivot.   With little more than an idea for a guide for midlife women exploring erotica, Stella published her first book, Aphrodite's Pen: The Power of Writing Erotica After Midlife.  It would come as no surprise that the launch party for Aphrodite’s Pen was held at a sex toy shop in Berkeley, CA.  The rest, as they say, is publishing history.  Stella shows us the power of the pivot and a commitment to advocating for women’s creativity, often emerging in midlife and beyond. Come join the conversation. Show Notes: Website:  www.stellafosse.com Substack: stellafosse.substack.com Grandmother Collective on Substack Crone Hub Stella’s Books Rock On: Power, Sex and Money after 60 Write & Sell a Well-Seasoned Romance: Launch Your Author Adventure in Late-Life Romance Vampires of a Certain Age: Five Hundred Years of Loving Brilliant Charming Bastard: Getting Rich is the Best Revenge The Erotic Pandemic Ball:   Tales of Love in Lockdown Aphrodite's Pen:  The Power of Writing Erotica After Midlife Mentioned in the episode: Joan Price Ruth Saxton Sibylline Press Support the show