Welcome! I'm Debra Eve, proud late bloomer and possessor of many passions.
In 1942, the U.S. Army called up a skinny California boy barely out of his teens. At 5’9’’ and 125 lbs, Pfc Glenn Eve was then deemed unfit for combat.
After decades as a customs inspector, Henri Rousseau picked up a brush and taught himself to paint. He submitted his work to the official Salon, but they rejected him for lack of skill. Rousseau refused to give up.
Resources
This page marks the beginning of a new project, The Late Bloomer’s Encyclopedia of Life Change, which I plan to publish as an ebook (or maybe a Wiki) next year.
You can find “10 Tips For Doing Something” anywhere, but I want to
- emphasize the arts and humanities and
- feature authors and teachers with rich, diverse backgrounds.
Please help me by sending your books, people and resources to elle.b at laterbloomer.com and I’ll add them here (with attribution).
Archaeology, Myth and Folklore
Curious? Gene Lempp’s Designing from the Bones series combines exciting myth and archaeology research with writing inspiration.
Archaeology Magazine, the official publication of the Archaeology Institute of America, writes for the general public.
Oxford University Continuing Education teaches individual online courses, such as “Exploring Roman Britain,” “Greek Mythology” and “Ritual and Religion in Prehistory.”
Serious? University of Leicester offers online Archaeology and Ancient History degrees, from a post-grad certificate through a Ph.D. Leicester’s Archaeology program always ranks in the UK’s top five. I enrolled with the thought of completing my Ph.D, only to realize (again) that I really, really hate academic writing.
Acting
Coming soon.
Art
Coming soon.
Articles On Late Blooming
See ”The Late Bloomer Internet Reading List”.
Blogging: General
Note: These are not affiliate links. I really believe in these folks:
Annabel Candy’s Successful Blogging In 12 Easy Steps sets you up, gets you writing and helps you market. Annabel is a busy mother and travel writer who doesn’t cater to blogging fads or hype.
Dave Doolin’s Blog Post Engineering emphasizes “unSEO for Writers, Authors, Artists, Radicals, Freaks, Revolutionaries, Malcontents, Crafters and Crofters, and various & sundry Scoundrels, Rascals and Ne’er-do-wells. &c.” I don’t pay much attention to search engine optimization, but I learned a few tricks from Dave that landed LaterBloomer.com on Google page one for the term “late bloomers” — a few positions under Malcolm Gladwell.
Blogging: For Writers
Kristen Lamb’s Blog explains why traditional marketing doesn’t sell books. Namely, books are not tubes of toothpaste and writers are not tacos.
Books: Fiction By Late Bloomers
See “14 Free Books by Literary Late Bloomers”.
Books: Nonfiction About Late Blooming
Note: These are Amazon affiliate links. I have this wild notion of partially subsidizing my book-buying habit.
- Boyle, Prill: Defying Gravity: A Celebration of Late-Blooming Women. An anthology of real-life women who followed their dreams.
- Colvin, Geoff: Is Talent Overrated? Read my review here.
- Coyle, Daniel: The Talent Code. “Journalist and New York Times bestselling author Daniel Coyle provides parents, teachers, coaches, businesspeople—and everyone else—with tools they can use to maximize potential in themselves and others.”
- Davidson, Sara: Leap! What Are We Going to Do For the Rest of Our Lives? “A no-holds-barred, illuminating, and hopeful look at the choices and challenges we face and the roads open to us.”
- Freedman, Mark: Encore: Finding Work That Matters In The Second Half Of Life. “If the old dream of the Golden Years was the Freedom from Work, the dream of this new wave is the Freedom to Work—in new ways, on new terms, to new ends.”
- Gladwell, Malcolm: Outliers: The Story of Success. I quote Gladwell extensively in Why Are Some People Late Bloomers, Part 1 and Part 2.
- Lobenstine, Margaret: The Renaissance Soul. I feature this book in Why Are Some People Late Bloomers, Part 2.
- Rubin, Gretchen: The Happiness Project. Not just about finding happiness, but how to structure your life to follow your passions. I partially review it here.
Distance Learning
Curious? Check out free eCourses at Academic Earth, OpenCourseWare Consortium (OCW) and iTunes U.
Filmmaking
Late Bloomer Productions runs an 8-week course wherein participants co-create and co-own a finished film. They’re in Portland.
Forums
She Writes Blooming Late group features support, conversation, inspiration for women writers over 40. Helmed by the sensational Samantha Stacia.
Life Coaching
If you’re feeling stuck about your direction, life coaching might help. It’s not therapy, it’s passion alchemy.
You can find dozens of 20-somethings who cite dropping out of college and becoming a internet entrepreneur as their license to life coach. I can personally vouch for the care and integrity of coaches Tina Robbins and Tanya Geisler, who’ve lived fascinating other lives before earning respected coaching certificates.
I’ve not personally worked with Dave Stevens, but I can heartily recommend his blog and mission to help folks maximize their midlife potential.
Multiple Passions
The DaVinci Dilemma website by Lisa Rothstein and Liisa Kyle features quizzes and resources to help you discover, enjoy, direct, organize and work with your many talents. Wish I’d come up with that name!
When I Grow Up blog by Michelle Ward. Still trying to decide what you want to be when you grow up? Me too. 
Puttylike.com blog: ”Lifestyle Design for Multipotentialites!”
The Renaissance Soul, a book by Margaret Lobenstine. I mention it in Why Are Some People Late Bloomers, Part 2.
Writing: Fiction: Knowledge Base
In a class by itself, author Elizabeth Spann Craig’s Writer’s Knowledge Base curates the best fiction writing information on the web.
Writing: Fiction: Structure
Alexandra Sokoloff teaches screenwriting tips for writers. I bought her book and found her instruction invaluable when I participated in National Novel Writing Month last year.
Larry Brooks also paid his dues in Hollywood before turning to novel writing. His blog is a treasure trove of insight and experience.
Writing: Nonfiction: Blogging
Study Kelly Diels‘ “Sunday School for Sentences” when you’re weary of “how to” headlines and interminable lists.
- Prologue: God, Sex and Dazzling Sentences
- Sunday School for Sentences #1: Explain the Expected in Unexpected Ways
- Sunday School for Sentences #2: The (Textual) Reverse Cowgirl
- Sunday School for Sentences #3: Object Lessons (from Kanye West and JD Salinger)
- Sunday School for Sentences #4: How to Give Good Quote
- Sunday School For Sentences #5: Why You Should Write Bad Poetry
- Sunday School for Sentences #6: Two Damn Fine Writing Tips
- Sunday School for Sentences #7: There Are No Magic Words
- Sunday School for Sentences #8: How To Execute a Climax or Series of Climaxes. I’m talking About Writing. Mostly.
- Sunday School for Sentences #9: Thread the Grommets, Lace the Corset, Feed the Rabbits
- Sunday School For Sentences #10 – Work It
- Sunday School for Sentences #11: The Pigs In Space Edition
- Sunday School for Sentences #12: Screw SEO. I Write (Wackadoo Titles) for PEOPLE, Not Search Engines. And So Should You.
- Sunday School for Sentences #13: How to Write an Intimate Cosmology of Cheesecake, Cheesecake Shots (or not) and Shoplifting
- Sunday School for Sentences #14: What Picasso And Dave Chappelle Know about Writing. For Realz.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Holy cow!
Just ducked into twitter and caught your link to your new resource page – right now I’m supposed to be packing house to move but I feel like a kid in a candy shop wanting to check out all these wonderful links and resources.
Love it!
Thanks so much, Debra you are truly generous with your sharing.
Looks like I’ll be hanging out here alot…
Thanks, Deborah! It’s just a start, but I’m hoping this turns into something really useful.
This is already really useful, Debra! I’m familiar with a few, but the others I’ll check out. What a great idea! I’ve been writing about navigating mid-life for years in various blog posts and once had a blog solely devoted to mid-life. But this is a whole new take on the topic! I wish you the best of luck with it. I’ll be here often!
Sorry I missed this, Marcia! Thanks so much for your kind words and for stopping by.
debra,
great website! just discovered it today- i also studied anthropology and archaelogy, but gave it up to raise a family and worked part -time at a university as an academic secretary. always wanted to teach physical educucation for my love and talent of sports. I am almost 58 and still play on a women’s basketball team, volleyball team, ski, mountain bike etc. who said we were too old?? and i have grandma moses painting in my home for inspiration.
Thanks, Gila! Very cool we have so much in common. I’ve got to get back to exercising more vigorously. It’s the key to keeping young!
I found you through Anne’s blog and love the idea! I, too, am very much a late bloomer. If you like, go to my blog and under ‘about me’ will see all the twists and turns it has taken to get to this place at the ripe old age of 75! Oh, well, some of are, indeed, ‘late bloomers.
Congrats on your blog, Anne! I just read your “About” page and have just one question — when are you going to write your memoir?
Debra – do you have your book, “Later Bloomers” available in hardcover or paperback?
Not yet, Sue. But I’m hoping to have a paperback out for Christmas (fingers crossed)!
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