AUSTINTOWN, Ohio – Valley-based author Nancy Christie has released “Moving Maggie,” her 10th novel and the third in her Midlife Moxie series.
“Moving Maggie” is about Maggie Cartwright, a 60-year-old marketing administrator in a small hospital whose single-minded focus on her career comes at the cost of her marital relationship. Her husband’s announcement that he wants a divorce coincides with the news that her job has been eliminated due to a takeover by a larger health care system.
Uncertain about what she wants to do next and – with the sale of their condo – in need of a place to live, Maggie leaves the city and rents a home in a small rural community. A series of unexpected opportunities helps her reclaim her “Move-Ahead Maggie” identity. But her need to regain her financial stability and professional status makes her resist opening the door to personal relationships and even a possible love interest.
The question becomes, can Maggie find the emotional moxie to take a chance on having a life that is richer and more balanced?
Christie’s Midlife Moxie series showcases women facing personal and career challenges at midlife, who find the strength to pursue their dreams.
Female friendships, both old and new, are an integral element of each plot. In “Moving Maggie,” those friends include Mary Dearborn, an older widowed neighbor, and her teenage granddaughter, Janna, who are dealing with their own problems; and Maggie’s new boss, Sheila, who is struggling to keep her real estate business alive after the unexpected loss of her husband.
“As we grow older, we realize how important and essential our women friends are,” the author said in a press release. “They support us, encourage us and, if needed, give us a figurative ‘kick in the pants’ to get us out of our rut.”
Christie’s novels illustrate the value of having a strong group of women and also show that these relationships don’t have to be age-based. “There can be as much value and insight resulting from a bond with a teenager as with those who have a few more years under their bras than the main characters,” she said.
“Moving Maggie” has already received positive reviews.
The new novel “offers inspiration to any woman who has found herself suddenly boxing up remnants of what she thought was a secure life and having to find a new home for her heart,” said author Clarissa J. Markiewicz. “Extremely relatable, and at turns funny, touching, and poignant, ‘Moving Maggie’ is a story of resilience and how, if we take the reins of our lives and answer the question ‘What do I want,’ we’ll find love, friends, and new opportunities where we least expect them.”
Christie’s body of work includes “Reinventing Rita” and “Finding Fran” (the first two in her Midlife Moxie series), four short fiction collections, two books for writers and the essay collection, “The Gifts of Change.”
All of her books are available at BookBaby.com and other online retailers. Go to NancyChristie.com for information.