Hello !

I'm wondering if you've ever had a conversation like that goes something like this:

Me: "I'm having trouble reading the ingredients on the salad dressing in the grocery store lately, so I thought I should come in. I feel like something's wrong with my eyesight."

Male, 24-year-old ophthalmologist: "Hmm... how old are you?"

Me: "What does my age have to do with anything?"

Optha: Nodding his head in a patronizing way, "Needing to get glasses for the first time is normal among... women of a certain age."

Ugh.

If this eye doctor dude—and he was a dude in all respects—had been my age or older than me, I don't think I'd have felt so irked by his answer.

Woman of a certain age?

When I was twenty was I not a 'certain age'? Or thirty? Was thirty not a certain age?

I mentioned this conversation to an author friend of mine who is, like me, "of a certain age," and she shrugged and then told me something that shook my world:

Jeanine: "Do you know what booksellers consider to be the starting age of heroines in seasoned romance?"

Me: "I don't know. Fifty? Fifty-five?"

Jeanine: "Thirty years old.

Me: *Chokes on tea*

Jeanine: "You okay?"

Me: *Coughing.* "If thirty is seasoned, then what the hell does that make us?"

Jeanine: "Women of a certain age."

That conversation with my eye doctor took place a few years ago. More recently, my G.P sent me to see a gynaecologist in our small town. Dr. Kim Jones. It's been many years since I've had to see a specialist about my lady bits, but I had a good feeling about this person since Kim is my sister's name.

Imagine my shock when Dr. Kim called me into his exam room. He was under thirty and could easily model for a romance novel with a bare-chested hottie on the cover. Small talk told me he was a rock climber and skier and that his expertise was actually obstetrics. His usual patients were pregnant women, not "women of a certain age."

Though he didn't actually use that term, he made it clear that that was his belief after he removed my IUD and suggested I not have another one put in.

Me: "So, what would you recommend I use as birth control? I'm terrible with remembering to take a pill every day."

Dr. Kim: "How old are you?"

Me: I tell him.

Dr. Kim: Nodding his head in a patronizing way, "The odds of you getting pregnant are slim to none. And Slim just left the building."

I kid you not, that is exactly what he said. It was a joke that I laughed at in the moment, but left me with a niggling feeling of unease since... I'm still as regular as a full moon and the very thought of Slim sneaking back into the building, leaving me with a surprise—you know how much I hate being surprised if you read my last email—is horrifying given how many seasons I've seen.

Ugh.

If you're over thirty, I'd love to know if you consider yourself either 'seasoned' or 'a woman of a certain age'.

Are you offended by terms that suggest you're old?

Or do you embrace terms like 'crone,' and 'mature?'

Or do you use a different euphemism to communicate your advanced birthday status?

*New Release* New Adult RomCom

No matter how old I get, I think I'll always love new adult romances. And RomComs are my favorite sub-genre. If a book can make me laugh and cry, I'll be that author's fan forever.

Ivy Hunt just released the second book in her Wrong Place, Right Time series. I loved Not by the Playbook so was quick to pre-order the second book, Not a Perfect Save. This 'fling to forever football romance' was a 5-star read for me.

Both books in the series are on sale for just $0.99 each until the end of January. Then they'll jump to $2.99, so grab them now and tell me what you think.

What if I—Ella Dixon, wallflower extraordinaire—saved Connor Hall, football god, from a robbery at gunpoint?

Would the traumatic experience result in a temporary attraction between us? Plausible.

Would Connor ask me to pretend that he's the big hero? Possible.

Would I ask him for a huge favor in return? Probable.

Would we end up in bed together? Predictable.

And if our connection ends up being more than just temporary? Perfect.

Not a Perfect Save is a sexy 40,000 novel with no cheating, no cliffhangers and a guaranteed HEA. It is the second book in the Wrong Place, Right Time series.

$0.99 or free in KU

Free books—from sweet to spicy and all the seasonings in-between

Each cover leads you to that book plus a whole group of books that are free to download this week. Check them all out since each one is a different book fair!

That's all from me for the week.

love & experiencedstuff,

Danika

PS — I'd really love if you wrote back and told me if you have a story about being called 'old' without actually being called old.