We caught up with the brilliant and insightful January Ornellas a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, January thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I believe I was about nine years old and I had just finished reading Blubber, by Judy Blume. She was my favorite author and I loved how she wrote in a manner that was so relatable. I couldn’t believe that someone could have a job in which he or she got to write stories for a living. When I started writing stories, I was also drawn to realistic fiction, and that is what I still write today.

January, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Although I have always written, I didn’t really find my niche until about 2018. I was not enjoying the writing process and I decided to change writing genres and focus on the enjoyment of storytelling. I began writing short humorous pieces about everyday life. These would best be described as “Slice of Midlife” stories.

I launched my website, Midlifebloomer.com in 2019, and that same year, I published a piece in the Los Angeles Times about how I (barely) completed my first triathlon. Readers responded well to this piece and began following my site.

I continued to post regularly, as well as send out stories to various publications. Over the last several years, I have been featured in various Chicken Soup for the Soul humor books, The Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, and the Belladonna.

I am most proud of publishing my first book, My Above Average Colon and Other Midlife Adventures, in 2023. This was a testament to several years of honing my craft, working hard, and not being afraid to be vulnerable.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

For many years I wrote Childrens’ books, and although I came close to publishing, it didn’t quite pan out. Now that I was in my early 50s, I felt discouraged and questioned if I was really a writer, This is when I decided I just needed to try a new avenue, take classes, and write more consistently. Within a year, I published one of my stories in a major publication and I began to gain a following.

More publications followed, but there were also setbacks and rejections. However, I didn’t let that deter me. I had finally come to a point in my life where I could confidently say I was a writer.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

The best advice I can give to others is to be authentic. When I started writing honestly and sharing aspects of my life that I might have been embarrassed by, readers began to respond to my writing. I found that people appreciate honesty and vulnerability, which leads to a deeper connection. This is not just a good lesson for writing, but more importantly how to live one’s life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://midlifebloomer.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/january.ornellas.7

Image Credits

Sarah Jeruta Salvilla for the personal photo and the first other professional pictures

Elena Aker for the LA Times photo