We make our living in a somewhat unusual way, where neither of us gets paid regularly.

While she sells freelance magazine articles now and then, mostly she runs the publishing company she started about a dozen years ago--which mostly sells the books she and I write. One odd fact is that around 3/4 of the new books in the U.S. are sold in November and December, so that's when the company makes a lot of its money. But periodic sales throughout the year boost her income now and then.

When we got married 38 years ago she was teaching part-time, so had a steadier income than I did as a freelance writer. But within a few years that changed, to the point where I supported both of us while she wrote her first book. All of it worked well enough that we were debt-free within about 25 years. Haven't had to make a mortgage or car payment for quite a while, so we can each make choices in how and when we work--which is why we have separate companies set up for her income and mine. In the meantime we did a lot of stuff many people put off until retirement, including traveling and hunting/fishing quite a bit around the world.

We both like what we're doing, and in some ways have slowed down a little, but so far have no plans to totally retire.


“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck