The photo is of J&J Antiques in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, where Paul and I browsed one afternoon, when we recently visited. The shop is owned by Marjie Johnson, a delightful lady, who runs it with her friend Julia (pronounced Yulia). We got to talking…told her we were/are Rhode Islanders and she asked about my book (I don’t know how it came up…Wink..wink!). Anyway, she bought Boomerrrang and sent me her thoughts on it last week:

Colleen—

I wanted to let you know I read your book right away and loved it!  What a fun, but informative read.  Julia asked me, “what kind of book is it?”  I told her, it’s a tragedy, a comedy, a retirement guide for medical, for real estate and most of all just a darn good fun read.  When you mentioned the movie – The Blob – I cracked up!  I had just been telling my nephew about it a couple weeks prior and that it was the scariest movie ever.  LOL!

Your book confirmed for me that my recent decision was a good one regarding “next phase of my life.”  So thank you!

I am going to share my book with Julia and then when I can get caught up from being gone for two weeks, I am going to order one for my cousins in Alaska.

I do hope that you and Paul will stop and see us next time you venture to Seattle.  We can plan to enjoy Happy Hour next door at Oliver’s Twist!

My best to you.

_____________________________

Now, on to the reason for writing this post. My offer of guest speaking. I love it!! I’ll come before your group if your group’s interests align with my subjects (they’re listed on this site), and if they do, we’ll do it. Just email me. In fact, even if you’re not sure we align, email me anyway. I tailor the talk to your people.

In the past few months, I’ve spoken before: the American Association of University Women (approximately 100) at Atlantic Resort, in Middletown, RI. Then there was my talk before nearly 100 of the Leisure Learning group at St. Luke’s church on Peirce St., East Greenwich. Next I did two Rotary presentations—before Bristol and then North Smithfield. Then, a three-office realtor group at Westminster Unitarian church on Kenyon Ave., in East Greenwich. Following that, I went before an OLLI group at the University of Rhode Island…and just last week, I spoke to seniors at Wingate Healthcare in Needham, Massachusetts. In between, I was a guest on Frank Prosnitz’s radio show out of Westerly.

What’s next? Probably Barrington Public Library and then a talk before a group that meets in a tavern in South Kingstown. I think I’m gonna love that one!

My intent? To go all over, giving folks the tools to live a fuller experience and protect themselves in home purchase/sale.

My “talks” are all on different topics. The one I did last was “Be Your Family’s Memory Keeper”—showing folks how they can use family photos and write original short stories (some a paragraph in length), as they become their own family’s version of Ancestry.com.

Many talks are about downsizing…condo-sizing…How folks can buy/sell to their best advantage. I tell them how to maximize their profits and avoid dangers. This topic is right for any age.

Before older groups, I talk on the theme: “We’re Not ‘Done’ Yet” whereby I suggest folks throw out the model that says after 55, we should sit on a shelf with all our talents and lifetime experience. I talk about the need to buck that mindset and go after whatever they want to do…just as I’ve done.

I show the product of my beliefs—the three books I’ve written in my third career (after teaching and real estate). I wrote columns for years that appeared in newspapers (Wall St. Journal, Providence Journal) but then went the next step and wrote these books. My two children’s books—Grandpa and the Truck, Books 1 and 2, reflect my longtime partner’s experiences traveling across America for thirty years.

I wrote Boomerrrang (released just this year) when I saw people being burned in real estate purchase/sale in our retirement home—Asheville, North Carolina. I wrote it to tell them about our many year experience searching for a home and living in the South and then our decision to return to Rhode Island and to show them how to maximize profit in home purchase/sale and warn them about pitfalls to avoid (again, see my book’s review from storeowner Marjie in beginning of this post.)

My books are available at all of my talks. Boomerrrang is also at Barrington Bookstore in Garden City and Barrington; Savoy Bookstore in Westerly; Malaprops in Asheville, NC; and at Amazon and Kindle (though if you order through my website—colleenkellymellor.com-I can personalize and autograph, per your directives on that site.

Contact me at colleenkellymellor@gmail.com