Doug Podaima of Ste. Rose has been creative since 1976 - when he first started writing at the age of 16. Fast forward 50 years to today, and he's a published author.
Podaima has published two novels - Cascades, a crime thriller about moral compromise and survival, and Eera, a character-driven fantasy about choice, courage, and hope. Some of the ideas in Eera have been with Podaima since the 1980s. He said it's been interesting to see how those concepts have evolved over time, alongside himself.
"It was like something calling to me, whether it be spiritual, psychological, I don't know, I had to start writing and getting my thoughts, and I though I had a story to tell to people...it's like a fine wine, it ages over time, and you change as a person, and I see changes in my characters in the story as well over the time," said Podaima.
October is Seniors' and Elders' month in Manitoba, focused on highlighting the achievements, leadership, and ongoing contributions of Manitoba's seniors. Publishing novels at 66 isn't an easy task. But Podaima's advice to other seniors who might be on the fence about using their creativity: take the leap.
"It's never too late to finish something you started, you have the power in you to do it, just get it out there, so we all can do it, we just need that little nudge or push or something, whatever's calling you to do it...like my novel, in Eera, we all have a fractured path, we never travel down the same path. We all have a road to discovery and to becoming, and that's one of the major themes in the novel," said Podaima.
Podaima is planning a meet-and-green in Ste. Rose for sometime in November.
