Interview with
Lorraine Salmon
Author of What's Better Than This?
Lorraine Salmon
Author of What's Better Than This?
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Lorraine Salmon is the author of What’s Better Than This?, her first memoir which reached the #1 spot on Amazon.com in the “New Dramas and Plays by Women” category shortly after its release in December 2018. This romantic memoir spans her 14-month love affair that quickly blooms into a pivotal and meaningful mid-life romance before turning into a last-wishes-before-dying story. Her journey confronts readers with the questions that arise when we look death squarely in the eye.
Lorraine is a self-taught consultant/developer of over $100M in real estate projects. She spent 25 years in healthcare and real estate management, development, and construction and is a NYS-licensed real estate broker. She was the developer of a $48M traumatic brain injury rehabilitation center in the Hudson Valley Region of New York – the first of its kind. Lorraine is Executive Director of Institutional Advancement and External Relations at SUNY Ulster where she is responsible for the overall planning and management of philanthropic support for the college and an Arbonne Independent Consultant, teaching others to own and operate their own consulting firms. She is the mother of two grown daughters and grandmother (Lola) to five. She currently lives in Glasco, NY where she enjoys her river view and finds much inspiration for her writing projects. She is working on her second memoir. |
Myrna Beth Haskell met Lorraine for lunch at Gigi Trattoria in Rhinebeck, NY to discuss her memoir.
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Did you always want to be an author?
I realized early on that I could engage people through letter writing, but life happens and your priorities change. I got pregnant as a teenager…then I got divorced and was raising my daughters, working and just knowing I had to put food on the table. When I met Mackey, I owned a very successful company, planning, managing and brokering multi-million dollar facilities for healthcare clients. I was a very successful businesswoman, but something was missing. Mackey filled that emptiness and brought renewed joy to my life. Tell me the first adjective that comes to mind when you think of Mackey. FUN! Lorraine smiled…hesitated, and then added… Women have told me, ‘You’ve made me believe again.’ |
Mackey and Lorraine
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When did you find out Mackey had cancer?
We found out he was ill just five months after our whirlwind romance started. Mackey had a growth removed five years earlier, which turned out to be melanoma. But he seemed to be doing fine. When we learned it was back, it was in his spine and liver. There was no time for introductions…we just wanted to spend every minute we could…together...building memories.
We found out he was ill just five months after our whirlwind romance started. Mackey had a growth removed five years earlier, which turned out to be melanoma. But he seemed to be doing fine. When we learned it was back, it was in his spine and liver. There was no time for introductions…we just wanted to spend every minute we could…together...building memories.
Click image above for excerpt.
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After his death, when I saw that I wasn’t even mentioned in his obituary, I realized he only existed in my mind. My longtime friends didn’t even know about him. God, then I heard that someone said, ‘I heard she had a boyfriend, and he died.’ I couldn’t let people think this. We had lived a whole lifetime together in 14 months. We had committed to a future together.
So the book was born of my needing to preserve what was so wonderful about us. I wanted people to know that, even though your time together may be short, you still have that piece [of your loved one]. I experienced extreme depression after Mackey passed. I didn’t leave my house for three years. After a year in therapy, I realized I still wasn’t getting better. Intellectually, I understood that I had children and grandchildren who loved me and that I needed to start living again…but I was in a bad place. Writing the book literally saved my life. I tell people, ‘It’s the longest obituary ever written.’ |
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Walk me through the day you learned that he was ill.
It’s just…you think…‘Oh my God! Stage 4 cancer! What are we going to do?’ Mackey was looking to me. I had to keep it together. He told me, 'Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.' Lorraine writes, “Just last week we had nothing but time, a future awaiting us, one we’d worked hard for. This morning, we wondered how other people get up ‘the day after.’” (Read more from an excerpt this month HERE.) |
“Funny and sexy, raw and heartbreaking, What’s Better Than This? is a memoir about finding love - and then saying goodbye. Get the tissues and be prepared to read straight through to the end.” ~ Bill Ritter, (Anchor, WABC TV) |
How did you find the strength to stay positive throughout his illness?
When I was a young girl, I had an affinity for this movie titled ‘Sunshine’ [a 1973 made-for-television docudrama]. This was back in the day when we didn’t record stuff. I would search to find when it would be aired again. It was about this woman who finds out she’s ill, and she has a young child to raise. Her husband decides he can’t handle watching her die, so he leaves her – rides off on his motorcycle. I’d get so angry every time I’d watch this scene. I vowed that I would never be that person who got on a motorcycle.
When I was a young girl, I had an affinity for this movie titled ‘Sunshine’ [a 1973 made-for-television docudrama]. This was back in the day when we didn’t record stuff. I would search to find when it would be aired again. It was about this woman who finds out she’s ill, and she has a young child to raise. Her husband decides he can’t handle watching her die, so he leaves her – rides off on his motorcycle. I’d get so angry every time I’d watch this scene. I vowed that I would never be that person who got on a motorcycle.
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It was so many years later that I found I had my own choice to make. I could keep making more money, or I could finish this with Mackey. There was no question. I left the business. It imploded on itself. Both of my daughters and my two sisters worked for the company. This was not easy…but it was the only thing to do. They were all extremely supportive.
You use humor throughout. Looking back at the writing process...was this subconscious or intentional? Intentional. It was a result of fear. I’m not funny, and I was worried I wouldn’t know how to write funny. Mackey was extremely funny, and I wasn’t sure how to portray his humorous side. But then I figured, if I thought something was funny that he did, I could just write it exactly how I remembered it. Lorraine hesitated...then her face lit up with a huge smile. You know, I told Mackey I was going to write the book. What did he say? He said, ‘Really? Do you think anyone will read it?’ |
Mackey in Florida
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People ARE reading it! You managed to land a #1 spot on Amazon in the category of “New Dramas and Plays by Women,” and you’re getting some fabulous reviews. How did you do this as a first-time author? You self-published, right?
Yes. I self-published on Amazon, but there’s a story here.
From 2015 to 2018, there were 300 advance readers who asked to read my 350 page manuscript after seeing information about it on Facebook. I printed these from my home office - 105,000 pages! In 2018, I decided to print 500 more advance reader copies (ARC). To control printing costs and to test the market, I used GOFUNDME as a fundraising concept to see if book sales would sustain beyond the 300 initial advance readers. This campaign went live in June 2018, and the 500 copies were gone in seven weeks. I raised over $9,000 and heard from so many readers!
Then, on December 13, 2018, I self-published on Amazon, and it hit the #1 spot that month.
GoFundMe gave me something that Amazon doesn’t provide - donor contact information which enabled me to send thank you copies to supportive readers. The most important aspect was that I was able to maintain a regular dialogue with the readers. It was an amazing experience and one I would never have had through traditional publishing channels. Readers could reach me while they were reading. It was a journey we went on together. A keen sense of healing doesn’t even begin to describe the experience.
Live author events and readings must bring you back to the precipice…is this healing as well?
It’s joyful. I feel like I’m giving permission for people to talk about their wonderful memories of those who passed….to not focus on the part when things got difficult.
Yes. I self-published on Amazon, but there’s a story here.
From 2015 to 2018, there were 300 advance readers who asked to read my 350 page manuscript after seeing information about it on Facebook. I printed these from my home office - 105,000 pages! In 2018, I decided to print 500 more advance reader copies (ARC). To control printing costs and to test the market, I used GOFUNDME as a fundraising concept to see if book sales would sustain beyond the 300 initial advance readers. This campaign went live in June 2018, and the 500 copies were gone in seven weeks. I raised over $9,000 and heard from so many readers!
Then, on December 13, 2018, I self-published on Amazon, and it hit the #1 spot that month.
GoFundMe gave me something that Amazon doesn’t provide - donor contact information which enabled me to send thank you copies to supportive readers. The most important aspect was that I was able to maintain a regular dialogue with the readers. It was an amazing experience and one I would never have had through traditional publishing channels. Readers could reach me while they were reading. It was a journey we went on together. A keen sense of healing doesn’t even begin to describe the experience.
Live author events and readings must bring you back to the precipice…is this healing as well?
It’s joyful. I feel like I’m giving permission for people to talk about their wonderful memories of those who passed….to not focus on the part when things got difficult.
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The story of their time together is gripping and beautiful and, at times, very funny. This isn’t so much a story about death as it is about life and living - about finding and celebrating love, and then having to let go.” ~ Kathleen Friery (Emmy Award-Winning TV Producer) |
What do you hope readers will learn through your experience?
Life is the glass half full if you just shine a light on it. What would Mackey think if he read the book? Laughing…He’d be all proud of himself! Any plans for another book? Yes…I’ve started one. Stay tuned… |
Where do you find sanctuary? (#WheresYourSanctuary)
In words…through writing, I can go anywhere. Also in my five grandchildren…ages nine, eight, seven, three and two.
In words…through writing, I can go anywhere. Also in my five grandchildren…ages nine, eight, seven, three and two.
