And how I got here.
I am on my third career, second dog, and first husband. After conquering technology startups and venture capital, I returned to my first love, writing fiction. In my novels, the world is a better place. The women are strong, the men are woke, and the good guys win—eventually.
I live in Menlo Park with the aforementioned great husband. We have two above-average children, one (possibly) sentient dog.
2008 A Perfect Storm
I’d been a VC since 1987, a managing partner of El Dorado Ventures since 1991, investing in tech startups. In 2008 our daughter turned 12 and demanded a dog, the debt market collapsed taking the equity market down with it, and at EDV it was time to commit to the next ten-year fund. I was exhausted physically, psychically and strategically. Chip Conley coined the term middlescence, and it fits perfectly what I was going through.
So, I said goodbye to venture capital and did nothing for a deliriously happy year—I think it’s called self-care now.
But all good things must end, that’s part of what makes them enjoyable. And I turned my energy outward to find my next act. I took classes at Stanford, wrote my first novel, and eventually applied to their MFA-lite program centered on Novel Writing.
Fast forward to today, those two books came together as the beginning of a trilogy which is part thriller, part fantasy, part intergenerational love story. That brings me to the lessons learned, AKA what do I wish I’d known before deciding to become a more or less fulltime writer. So, I’ll be here to talk about these and any other questions about what it’s like to be a writer BEFORE Spielberg or Oprah or Reese options your next novel.