Writing as a place of solace: A Midlife Author interview with Carol Van Den Hende

And an end-of-the-season garden report

All we have is today, this week, month and very moment. Choose the use of your time based on your personal ‘why.’

—Carol Van Den Hende

For this month’s Midlife Author interview, we’ll hear from novelist Carol Ven Den Hende, who turned toward writing in midlife, when one of her sons was struggling. Carol is also a longtime marketing executive, working in global corporate strategy for the Mars candy company. She’s also a longtime fundraiser for disabled combat veterans. Carol is the mom of young-adult twin sons, and lives in New Jersey.

Carol’s first novel, Goodbye Orchid (2020), features main character Orchid, who’s struggling with grief after her parents’ traumatic deaths. Orchid is ambitious at work, trying to win an assignment in China, but distrusting of others, until she connects with the empathetic (and very attractive) Phoenix… 💕💕💕

Carol followed up Goodbye Orchid with two more works of romantic intercultural fiction, Orchid Blooming and Always Orchid. And because she “works in chocolate,” as she refers to her marketing job, Carol always brings sweets to her bookstore events.

Hi Carol, tell us about your writing journey. Where and when did writing begin calling to you more insistently?

My path to writing is dotted with plot twists. I could read before preschool, was writing fiction by elementary school, and wanted to be an English major in college, until my traditional Chinese family steered me towards engineering (the only thing those two majors have in common is their first three letters 😊).

But surprise, they were right! I adored coding in college, and launched into a career in digital technologies, which led to decades in marketing, insights, and strategy.

Meanwhile, I never stopped loving storytelling, which served me well in brand marketing and public speaking.

Then, challenges with one of our twins led me to writing as a place of solace. The stories that poured out shined a light on characters with disabilities, human resilience, and compassion. My critique group were the first to let me know that my writing could touch lives. They were moved to tears after my character saves a man from jumping in front of a train…only to end up on the tracks himself. Voila, Goodbye Orchid was born.

The media oftentimes portray writers as geniuses at their keyboards who get plucked from anonymity, go on international book tours and get their books made into movies. In reality, this is exceedingly rare. The truth is that writers are fighting for “eyeballs” from readers who have lots pulling for their attention—work, school, family, politics, Netflix, plus millions (literally MILLIONS) of other books.

What do you know now as a writer that you wish you’d known starting out?

People say ‘writing is hard’ and while that can be true, what’s harder are the expectations that come with publishing. The media oftentimes portray writers as geniuses at their keyboards who get plucked from anonymity, go on international book tours and get their books made into movies. In reality, this is exceedingly rare. The truth is that writers are fighting for “eyeballs” from readers who have lots pulling for their attention—work, school, family, politics, Netflix, plus millions (literally MILLIONS) of other books.

In the face of those odds, I’m lucky to have met many loyal readers who love my novels. The cliché is really true, enjoy the experience and be flexible about the outcomes. In my case, I’ve adored the opportunity to meet readers at bookstores, libraries, book clubs and festivals, the chance to speak at conferences, panels, on TV, podcasts, and to experience the joy of recognition through awards, reviews and seeing my books in magazines like Glamour, Woman’s World, Travel+Leisure and more.

What makes a midlife writer a stronger writer?

Experience. Wisdom. Perspective. Time isn’t the only way to gain these benefits but it certainly helps!

Can you share your advice for someone who’s just getting started with writing, or who thinks it’s too late? 

All we have is today, this week, month and very moment. Choose the use of your time based on your personal ‘why.’ I asked myself the inspiring purpose question—what’s the reason you do what you do beyond the obvious profit or functional purposes—and the answer came to me. My mission is to inspire hope and empathy for people and planet. Writing helps achieve this. That clarity helps me choose where to spend my energy. My hope for every writer is that higher order purpose can drive each of us and that with that clarity, together we can build a stronger, better world.

Tell us about your most recent novel.

With themes of identity, disability, and the redemptive power of love, the finale to the Goodbye, Orchid series is for fans of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. You’ll meet capable beauty executive Orchid who wins a coveted job assignment to China; this forces her successful boyfriend to give up his business and move to a country that unfairly judges his disability. Readers say this riveting journey to unconditional acceptance includes relatable characters, surprising twists, and stories that pull on your emotions, and NY Times-bestselling author Kristin Higgans said "Carol Van Den Hende’s books are full of rich characters, real challenges and deep emotion."

And if you like, tell us about a book that you think deserves more attention.

Helen Zia’s Last Boat Out of Shanghai tells “The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution.” I used this book to help research my fourth novel, which dives into the experience of my grandparents when they fled China after Mao’s regime turned the country Communist. These stunning true stories gave me the perspective to appreciate the freedoms we have today.

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Last month’s Midlife Author interview, below:

Never finished: A wise Midlife Author interview with Jennifer Louden

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Garden report: End of the season

In our perennial beds, the phlox, black-eyed Susans, and asters are still going strong—we’re overrun with phlox and I’ll have to thin those out when I get a gardening day—but we’re nearing the end of gardening season in New Hampshire. It’s also been a beautiful year for hydrangeas of all kinds, apparently because we had so much rain in the spring.

The vegetable garden was a little less productive than last year but we still have tomatoes, cucumbers, and green beans coming. And sadly, I’ve confirmed that we have jumping worms, which is not good. Imagine earthworms, but evil—they wiggle like snakes and completely deplete the soil. Getting rid of them (or some of them, they’re prolific and hard to get rid of and toxic to birds, so birds won’t eat them) is another project for that gardening day. If you’re a gardener, I hope you’ve had a good season and that you never encounter a single jumping worm!

An overabundance of phlox, one of our giant hydrangeas, Russian sage and a black-eyed Susan relative, garden chaos, a sink full of late-summer flowers, and an arrangement of herbs and wildflowers.

As always, thank you for reading An Unfinished Story! Let me know what books you’re reading this month!