COVER STORY
‘I understand now that I wasn’t ready to be an author at age 30 or 40. I hadn’t read enough novels, I hadn’t studied the craft of writing fiction enough. I hadn’t lived enough.’ Tori Whitaker
FINDING THE WRITE STUFF
By Michele Ross
Many people dream of becoming writers. Many more feel sure they know the perfect idea for a bestseller — once they get around to writing it. Still others argue they could be authors if only -- pick one: a) family; b) work; c) other commitments — didn’t take up so much time. Here are several metro Atlanta seniors who didn’t let any reasons—or excuses—keep them from achieving their dreams of writing books.
Lynn Cullen, Atlanta resident and best-selling author of historical fiction is also an avid birdwatcher. Preferring to write outdoors on her patio, she allows herself the best of both worlds.
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MAY 2021 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com
Lynn Cullen
Fans and critics may praise the works of best-selling historical novelist Lynn Cullen of Decatur, but she gives credit for her writing to her Aunt Ruth in Fort Wayne, Indiana. When Lynn was 9 years old, she and her family took a trip to the countryside near Eden, Ohio, where her Aunt Ruth had been born. Observant even then, Lynn noticed the one-room schoolhouse, corn fields, prickly grasshoppers and lots of cows. Back in Indiana, Aunt Ruth gave Lynn a piece of paper and said, “Write about what you saw.” Other children might have made a dull list, but Lynn created a story about a girl living in rural Ohio in the 1920s. At the time, Lynn couldn’t have realized what she had done (or the wisdom of her aunt), but as she says now, “It was the true beginning of my vocation for writing historical novels.” Today, the 65-year-old Cullen is the author of such historical novels as “Twain’s End,” “Mrs. Poe,” “Reign of Madness,” “The Sisters of Summit Avenue,” and “I am Rembrandt’s Daughter.” But she is not a late bloomer. Even while her three daughters were small, and while Lynn was
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