Fiction about five strong women in later life
Building new lives, refusing invisibility
Stories that invite you to read deeply, and notice what starts asking to be written - by You
Welcome to Knowing Yourself Through Fiction
You’re not done.
And this is where your next chapter begins.
This space is for women 55+ at a crossroads.
Some of you are here to read fiction that finally feels like a mirror. The women are your age - or even older!
Some of you are here because a story has been tugging at you for years, and you can’t ignore it anymore.
And some of you are here for both.
You’re in the right place.
If you’re here because you want to read stories about women who look and sound like you,
or maybe you’re here because you need to write them.
Here’s what I know.
They’re connected.
Reading these stories helps you see yourself.
Writing your own story changes everything.
What This Is
I write fiction about five women, living more than six decades, who arrive in an ancient canyon in the desert Southwest and end up changing each other’s lives.
They come for different reasons. They carry different wounds. But something about the canyon makes it impossible to keep pretending they’re fine.
The series is called Women of the Canyon.
The first book, Whispers of Echo Canyon, follows all five women as they meet. Each book after that centers on one of the five, as she faces what comes next in a life everyone else assumed was already settled.
There is always a challenge. Sometimes it comes from the canyon’s history. Sometimes from the present moment. But the real story is the women themselves, discovering they are not invisible, not finished, and not alone.
This is fiction that meets you at your crossroads.
Reading and Writing Belong Together
You’ll also see exactly how I’m doing this in my 70s.
Not craft theory or writing rules.
Not “here’s how to plot.”
You’ll see the real process. The decisions. The momentum strategies. The AI tools I use as thinking partners. The way I keep writing without burning out.
How we get words on the page and out in public.
Through the fiction. And through my own lived process.
Whether you’re reading these stories or writing your own, this work is about enjoying the stories and claiming your voice.
What You’ll Find Here
📕 Chapters from the Women of the Canyon series, published as I draft
🗓️ Weekly Doses of Fiction, short, themed fiction released in story arcs
📝 “3 Steps to Finally Start Writing,” a free guide that takes you from “someday” to 500 words on the page
If you want the stories, you can stay right here.
Start reading now!
If you want more, there’s another door.
And here are your options.
But, let me invite you inside.
Story Insiders (paid subscribers) don’t just read about these women.
You sit with them in the private moments.
And write your own stories alongside them as they unfold.
You get everything free subscribers receive, plus:
📕 Riley’s 2 am Diary, the private writing of the woman who sets everything in motion
📂 Secret Journals, rotating journal entries from Raven, Quinn, Val, and Skylar
💻 Easy Does It: A No-Frills Way of Working to Build a Business Around Your Stories.
Because. You can’t NOT write
How about we sit together at our desks?
I will help you write because you can’t NOT write anymore.
Because your stories matter.
Because you’re done staying silent.
Go from “These ideas keep me awake, but I’m too late to start,” to “I’m writing this for me, and I want to build something from my pages.”
Easy Does It is for writers who are already writing but hesitate when it comes to what happens next.
This is not beginner advice or a writing-practice program. It focuses on the real work after your pages exist, when questions about sharing, continuing, or earning from your work begin to surface and stall momentum.
We work with simple tools, including AI as a thinking partner and Google Docs as a grounding workspace, making forward decisions as the work unfolds. There are no systems to master and no prescribed path, just practical ways to keep your stories moving without burning out or getting lost in advice.
Fiction from the Women of the Canyon is woven throughout, not as instruction, but as a mirror, as these women face the same moments of visibility, choice, and continuation.
This space is for women 55+ who want their stories to live on in the world and refuse to let their work stall, disappear, or quietly die in a drawer.
This isn’t something you read and finish. It’s something you enter and stay inside as your stories move forward.
Fiction, memoir, personal history, or the story of your work. Your stories count.
I’ve Been Where You Are
I know the ache when a friendship disappears without explanation.
I know what it’s like when the purpose that once fueled you is gone, and you’re left wondering what’s next.
When we moved to Hawai‘i, I left a career that had defined me. I felt unmoored.
So I started writing. And I landed in fiction.
These characters became women like us, navigating this later chapter with honesty and courage. Readers began telling me the stories were helping them look at their own lives differently.
That’s why I do this.
Stories let you feel seen without needing to explain yourself.
They don’t rush you to fix anything. They show you what’s still possible.
I’m Marylee
I’m publishing my first novel at 73.
I’ve always been a builder. Of businesses, gardens, and now stories. After decades in the nonprofit world and years running an award-winning gardening business, I turned toward fiction rooted in real emotion.
I’m blending lived experience with imagination and sharing exactly how I’m doing it so women who feel the same pull toward writing can see it’s possible at any age.
I live in Tucson with my partner of over 30 years.
When I’m not writing, you’ll find me traveling, golfing, swimming, puzzling, or reading good stories with a strong cup of coffee nearby.
You’re not alone.
And you’re not done.
Be part of something meaningful.
Fiction that touches your heart.
A writing journey that gives you voice.
And a place to meet others who speak to your life.
