About Valerie Saul

A voracious reader, I grew frustrated by the narrow depiction of women in contemporary fiction.

Society underestimates older women, and we underestimate ourselves.

Women over 50 can be more than caregivers, grandmothers, and book club aficionados. I believe we can also ride motorcycles, use chainsaws, and rescue people when necessary. My debut novel is the product of that belief.

I don’t have an MFA and I wasn’t an English major. I do have a doctorate in audiology, a master's degree in special education and a bachelor's in psychology from Stanford University. I spent a year sailing a small boat from California to the South Pacific. I have been a clinician, the rep for a cochlear implant company and a college professor in the United States, New Zealand, South Korea and Singapore. I’ve survived cancer twice. In other words, I’ve lived an uncommon life and I believe that comes through in my writing.

I belong to the California Writers Club, the Women’s National Book Association and a facilitated writers’ critique group. When I’m not writing, I can be found hiking the Marin headlands or sailing on San Francisco Bay with my husband.

The Badass Widows

When I started The Badass Widows, I had in mind to write a romp about older women doing crazy bold things. Then COVID happened and I experienced some losses. And before I knew it, my book was also about grief and finding the strength to start over.

My next books

My future novels will continue to explore the theme of adventurous older women, and their strength and courage in adversity.