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JAN GOLDFIELD
Pondlady and Curmudgeon

Jan Goldfield    Best -selling Author
A Practical Guide to Building and Maintaining your Pond

• Best-selling author, Jan Goldfield, the Pondlady, started writing over 50 years ago and as her interests changed, her writing changed.
•  Before building ponds she ran a residential drug rehabilitation center and wrote government funded grant proposals.
  
• She was also a practicing psychologist. With a background like that, the only possible creative outlet was writing.
  
• She is also a avid amateur photographer having started with a Brownie box camera and is now using a Canon SLR.
• DIYers who want a pond in the garden will enjoy this best-seller. This book can also valuable as a resource for the professional who needs more ways to solve pond problems.  Jan Goldfield, PhD

Many Ponds. One Curmudgeon.

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IN CONVERSATION WITH  

JAN GOLDFIELD

SAGE: What question have you always wanted to be asked in an interview? And how would you answer that question?

JAN GOLDFIELD: "Have you lived your life the way you wanted to?"
I have had the luxury of living my life as I wish.  And I will continue to do so.

What do you want Sage Companion Quarterly readers to know about your work?
Read the writings of a rogue, a rebel.  Grin, maybe. I try to change perceptions.

What advice would you give aspiring writers?
Change your major.

Some refer to you as a curmudgeon. How is your philosophy expressed in, for example, your favorite line of poetry?
I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. Henley

What advice to you have about how to spend your free time?
Find where you want to be and be there.

What are the most important attributes to remaining sane as a writer?
Sane? Who said I was sane?

How would you describe yourself in five words?
Old woman with dirty hands.

Jan Goldfield

Do you ever wish that you had an entirely uncreative job, like data entry or working in a factory?
Did that between college semesters. Never did it again. It convinced me to return to school.

What , for you is a powerful challenge when it comes to writing ?
Getting the words on the screen.

What are you working on now?
Wildlife photography.I am a general reporter covering entertainment in the area.

Jan Goldfield

What is, or what do you expect to be the most adventurous thing you have done/will do after the age of 60?
I survived Hurricane Katrina and more important survived the battle with the insurance company afterward. And to this day battle the PTSD that came with survival. I have written about this. I could teach classes in it.

What age-related hazards do you meet almost every day?
Very few stores, public buildings, sidewalks, parks are accessible, so I live as a marginalized person.

What advice do you have about how to spend your free time after you (UN)“retire”?
I will still be a gardener and a gonzo journalist.

In one sentence, what is your best advice on aging?
Don't stop believing you can change your life.

Have you experienced ageism?
Absolutely!  We become invisible as our hair grays.

What are the most significant changes/defining moments you see as happening in the world?
 Global Warming, World economic policies and most of all, apathy.

 How do you envision your white-haired years?
I am far into them at 70. I live in the woods and plan to continue.

What is your best advice for members of the "silent generation" ?
  Don't fall down the handicapped ramp.

Has the "dog” ever eaten your manuscript? (have you tossed pages due to frustration?)
 No, but I have often quit for the day very early.

How would you explain a social network in five sentences to a fourth-grader?
The fourth grader knows more than I ever will about social media.  I would ask for help, not try to explain.

If you won $30 million in the lottery, what would you do with the money?
Give most of it away, I suppose.

What are you reading these days?
Caught! Drug Store Trash 

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Jan's articles may be found by following the numbered (1 thru 7) links below

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more  Sage Companion Conversations

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