Introducing Successful Author Irene L

I'm terribly honored to introduce to you one of the most wonderful ladies on AC: Irene L!

You're in for a treat when meeting this author. She was one of my first favorite authors on this site.

So without much more ado, grab your popcorn, check out her reference links, and enjoy:

Who are you?

I'm the shadow that no one knows! I'm a 55 year old Italian mama originally born and raised in that toddling town of Chicago. I left there at 25 in 1978 to go all the way to Frankfurt, Germany to meet my now husband of 27 years. He was an officer and a gentleman and I was an accountant working for the Corps of Engineers. It was predicted by a psychic I would marry someone in a far away place within 2 years and sure enough within 2 weeks of that date we were married in Frankfurt August 19, 1980. He proposed in Switzerland and we honeymooned..where else..Italy! We left in 1981 to come back to Chicago. In 1983, I did one of those "take this job and shove it" dreams and walked out of my $25,000 (which was a lot of money back then) accountant job because I was stuck in a prejudice situation. We left Chicago in 1985, while I had a 2 ½ year old son (now 25) and 8 months pregnant with my daughter (now 22) for a job transfer. We stayed in a hotel for a month till we found a home. Since then, we have been residing in the Orlando area. During the last boom of real estate, I grab a couple of great deals; one in 2003 when we bought another home in Florida to rent out for 2 years and in 2004 when we bought our vacation home in Dahlonega, Georgia. I had 3 homes at once and then sold one (the home I was living in 2006) right before the big real estate drop came. I attribute this to my knowledge of the stock market. We took some of the proceeds to fix the rental home and paid the mortgage off and are living here now; just my husband and I. The kids are grown. We go to the home in the Georgia mountains ever 5-8 weeks for a recharge of energy. That will be our retirement home. I have been a real estate broker since 1990 among the other businesses I have tried and put to rest. In 1995, I decided to stop finding new businesses and selling real estate to work on our investment portfolio. I've always had a flair for saving money..when I was 22 I even saved $5000 for my first car which happened to be the first lemon of Chrysler..the Volare. I have been an investor in the stock market for over 35 years, and I became a day trader in the stock market when the World Wide Web was established in 1995. I knew nothing about trading or what stocks to pick. And I lost a lot of money while learning methods of trading. However, it was a great education and worth the tuition. I did it all, penny stocks, internet stocks , you name it and I did it. I met a financial planner online who showed me how to switch mutual funds within my retirement portfolio. This is when I took this idea and said, "why not treat my own finances like a business". And I did. Since then I have grown our retirement on an average of 20-25% per year. My husband and I took this like a partnership where he made the money and I grew it. This is something I hope to put in a book one day. Oh, one more thing, I love to cook and I'm good at it. Grandpa was an Italian chef which I'm proud of because he was very well known around the Chicago hotels in his hay day.

What drew me to AC?

I had a desire to write last year. I wanted to put my retirement switching system in a book form. My husband gave me a link to Gather.com where I wrote my first and only piece which turned out to be the first piece I wrote later on AC. On Gather.com I saw the link to AC and that's how it started.

What Genre are you wanting to publish the most?

Well, I'm a geek in finances. I would love to publish more in this area to help the average Joe. However, I write on all subjects because my writing might not ever get read if I strictly wrote on finances. I find people want the information but once they get it, they don't use it. They seem to be more interested in entertainment. So, on AC I write whatever comes to mind. I love nature and wildlife, reviewing products, and creative writing.

What are your Favorites so Far?

Each one of the articles below expresses a part of me and my knowledge. The first is Irene, the volunteer for Hospice and the experience I had when my first patient passed away recently.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/614145/the_passing_of_my_first_hospice_patient.html

The second is Irene who has conquered her fears in life and wants to share it in hopes that others can get through the difficult times we are in today. I wanted to give hope with this one.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/599649/4_tips_to_deal_with_your_fears.html

Then the third one is Irene who turned 55 this year and pass on my wisdom that I wish I got when I was 25. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/517131/the_benefits_of_turning_55.html

The next one is Irene the detail oriented person who pays attention to economics to benefit her family's growth. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/172096/how_to_know_when_the_real_estate_market.html

And this last one is my first on AC and probably my favorite of all only because it shows Irene on her personal journey in life and how I know love never dies. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/134325/my_love_is_always_near_a_visit_from.html

How has AC treated you so Far?

AC is growing. I understood that from the beginning. I did take time off over the summer because I had frustrations with the way AC was doing things. However, since I came back which was September in 2007, I get published and paid quickly. The only thing is they still need help in their tech support. We are not all getting our emails from our favorites. I and others have noticed this. So any of you CP's out there who can help get this message across, please do because it does hurt AC producers. And socializing, I would say is 60% of AC. Overall, I appreciate the opportunity AC has given me and others who wish to write. I think it has been an enriching and enjoyable experience.

What else have you had published?

I'm still new to all of this. All I've done is write on AC and I'm looking for advice on how to get more of my work published, especially in the financial world.

In 100 words or more: where do you want to be when you're 50?

Why thank you Donald for the compliment! LOL! I'm 55 so I've been there and done that already and looking forward without any number goals from here. I take one day at a time and learn from it every day.

What is your favorite quote about writing?

"Man who waits for roast duck to fly in his mouth, must wait a very long time" It can be applied to writing or anything in life. To me, it means you have to make it happen! Donald, I'd like to add one more question here.

What do You Like the Best about AC?

It's the people. I have met a lot of wonderful people and get a lot of great positive energy from them. Many of them have wonderful passions to help make this a better world through their writing