Inspired Living for Women: Conversations With Women Over 40

The Perfection Pivot: Beth Dudzic’s Journey from Rock and Roll Dreamer to Romance Novelist

• Lauri Wakefield • Episode 22

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 In this episode of Inspired Living for Women, Beth Pellino-Dudzic opens up about her journey from the rock clubs of New York to a seemingly perfect life in Hawaii—and the quiet unraveling that led her to start over at 40 as a single mother back in New York. Though she had long dreamed of a creative life, she followed a more traditional path of business school, marriage, and raising three daughters before eventually returning to herself. Years later, after rebuilding her life, remarrying, and eventually moving to Alabama, the stories she’d imagined for decades finally came to life. Beth shares how her love of music, storytelling, and second chances led to the creation of The Perfection Saga, a six-book romance series born from a spark that never really left. 

✨Topics Discussed:

  • Beth’s early immersion in New York’s rock scene and how those formative years shaped the creative foundation for her fiction
  • The disconnect between outward success and inner fulfillment that led her to leave a “perfect” life in Hawaii at age 40
  • How the idea for the Perfection Saga came to her suddenly after decades of imagining characters and stories in the background
  • Why midlife can be a powerful time to reconnect with long-held passions and finally create what’s been waiting beneath the surface

    💡 Key Takeaways:
  • Leaving a life that looks good on the outside may be the first step toward creating one that feels right on the inside.
  • Creative ideas often live within us for years before we’re ready—or able—to bring them to life.
  • Reinvention doesn’t have to happen all at once; it unfolds through choices, courage, and persistence.
  • Your past experiences can become powerful creative fuel—even the parts that felt off-track at the time.

Noteworthy Quotes:
“I thought there was something wrong with me... I had everything, and I wasn’t happy. But I was only 40, and I had the rest of my life to figure out what happiness really meant.”
“It was like the story flowed through me. I got in the shower, and the characters, the plot, the names—they all came to me. That’s when I knew: it was time to start writing.”
“I always thought I was meant to do something—something bigger—and now it’s finally coming out.”

Beth's Bio: Beth Pellino-Dudzic is a Bronx-born author who grew up in Westchester County, NY. Her Perfection Saga—a planned eight-book romance series—is fictional but rooted in decades of lived experience and her deep connection to the New York rock scene. A lifelong music lover and lyricist, Beth also enjoys football, baking for special occasions, and creating characters who reflect strength, heart, and resilience. She’s a proud mother of three adult daughters and a new grandmother, currently living in Alabama.

More About Beth:
Book Website: perfectionsaga.com/
Follow on Instagram


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Website: inspiredlivingforwomen.com

Lauri Wakefield [00:00:41]:
Hi. Welcome to the Inspired Living for Women podcast. Thanks for joining me today. I'm your host, Lori Wakefield, and Barb Jakes is with me today as my co host. Barb was also a guest on podcast 11, if you'd like to go back and listen to that podcast episode. But our guest today. You know what? I didn't even ask you how to pronounce your last name. So, Beth Paulino. What's the other?

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:01:03]:
Dudzik. It's like it took me a while to actually know how to pronounce it myself.

Lauri Wakefield [00:01:09]:
Okay, okay. So that was that. That was your married name, right?

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:01:12]:
Yes.

Lauri Wakefield [00:01:12]:
Okay, so Beth is. She was born in the Bronx and raised in Westchester, which is near the Bronx. She holds a BA In Business Administration and as the author of the Perfection Saga, a six book series infused with her rock and roll roots. She's a former IBM professional and she now lives in Alabama, enjoys football. Who's your team?

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:01:33]:
Oh, I'm in New York all the way. Jets and Giants, but my fallback has always been the Kansas City Chiefs, so I was disappointed this year.

Lauri Wakefield [00:01:43]:
So you also. You have other interests, like cooking, music, and you like to engage with your readers and book clubs.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:01:49]:
Oh, yeah.

Lauri Wakefield [00:01:49]:
So cooking.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:01:51]:
I. You know what? I will say this. My husband expects dinner every night, and that kind of cooking becomes monotonous. I love cooking for events, dinner parties, holidays. And every now and then, I'll get inspired to make something for dinner that's different, but the grind and my husband's. You're such a great cook. Why should we go out? And I said, because I need a break every now and then. That would be nice. Yeah, I do like to cook. I do like to bake. I grew up in a family where my grandmother and her four sisters were just amazing cooks. And I spent a lot of time with my grandmother, so it was always baking. And this woman, I don't know how she did it, but back in the day in the Bronx, people would stop by. My grandma would have this six course Meal on the table. I don't know how she whipped everything out, but she did. And I got that bug from her. And I've passed it down to my daughters. So that's like the cool thing.

Lauri Wakefield [00:03:00]:
Okay, so let's start back on your journey. Let's go back to when you were a teenager. That was probably even before then. You were listening to rock and roll, but that was like when you started going to concerts and.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:03:12]:
Oh, it was earlier than that. It was earlier than that. I will just state this because my parents were teenager when I. My mother was 17 when she had me. And my parents did not. They stayed married for. Until my father passed away. And I grew up with music all the time because my parents were young. So there was always music in the house. And we go through the early 60s female groups like the Ronettes and then. So music for me was always in my life. And as I got older, I was able to pass at 16 to go into clubs. But before that, hanging out with my friends. And when you live in New York, it's who do you want to see? Because they're there. And you go to Madison Square Garden, Central park in the summer, had great concerts. So I was always going to concerts from the age of 14, taking a bus and subway or the train into Manhattan. And we didn't think anything of that. And then when I got to about. It was probably about 17. I started dating a guy who was from the neighborhood, and he was four or five years older than me, and he was a roadie for now. The New York club scene at the time was very big, and there were a lot of different bands. Do you like Southern rock? Do you like progressive rock? Do you like just plain. So there were tons of bands. He was a roadie for the number one band on the circuit. Everybody wanted to see these guys, and they became my friend. At least two of them did. One of them was interested in me, and I knew he was. And I said to him, but you have a girlfriend, so unless you're getting rid of her, that's not gonna work. And I was young and was able to say that. I was like, you know, I always say, I'm never a number two. I'm always a number one if I can't be number one. So I would follow where the band is. And then because they were number one, other bands would come and see them. And there was this one place, and it's very well known because in the 40s, they used to do a lot like Tommy Dorsey and stuff. It's Called Glen Island Casino, and it's on the water and it's in New Rochelle. But on Tuesday nights in the summer, it was three bands and. And it was rock and roll heaven. So when they used to play there, you would meet other members of other bands. And that boyfriend, we found that we were better off as friends. We are still friends to this day. And he was like a big brother. So if somebody came over to me and he didn't like them or they were married. Cause there would be some of the guys who would try to pick you up and he would say, this guy, guy is married. And he would act as though we were boyfriend and girlfriend and he would chew them away. So he was very good as being a big brother. So I did meet somebody from another band and it got serious pretty quick. And he was a good 10 years older than me. And I think I lied about my age. I. To be honest, I think I did. But we did have this serious relationship where I moved in with him. Not that my parents were very happy, but he was an Italian guy, so I think my father gave him a little attitude there.

Lauri Wakefield [00:07:09]:
So how long did you date him?

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:07:11]:
It was a while. It was a good amount of years. And I would say about four years. So then you're thrust into the whole band circuit. And I will say there was one band that came, and my friends from this other band, they played more progressive rock, which was my thing. The Jethro Tulls, the Led Zeppelins, that kind of thing. And these guys were the most excellent musicians. And back then in the day, it was the record companies would come to see you play and decide if they were going to give you demo or whatever. It's not at all what it is today.

Lauri Wakefield [00:07:54]:
I don't mean to interrupt you, Barb. Did you have any questions that you wanted to ask Beth about. About that time in her life?

Barb Jacques [00:08:00]:
Well, I'm just absorbing it all. But did you play at all? Did you sing? Did you do anything in the scene or are you just really there?

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:08:09]:
I was there. And Barb, I have to say that I actually thought of starting a band with two of my girlfriends. And one of the guys from my boyfriend's band was like trying to get us to do this. And did I want to sing? Yes, I did. And. But I always felt. And I did not have the self confidence because when you sing as you do anything, you're putting yourself out there to be rejected. And when you're younger, that plays a big role. You're like, I can't do it. I Don't want to put myself out there. And one of the big things too was I didn't think I was pretty enough. I didn't think that. And that's all that self doubt, which later, by the way, all these guys, once Facebook came in and all these people started hitting me up. And when I got back. When I got back in touch with that friend of mine who introduced me, I said, I just never thought that I was the pretty girl. And he was like, you didn't know that you were hot like everybody. And I was like, really? I said, I did not know that about myself. I said, my life would have taken a total different trajectory if I knew that. But I had. I did not have the self confidence. And.

Lauri Wakefield [00:09:42]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Barb Jacques [00:09:43]:
It's a common theme with a lot of women when we look back. So if you could say anything to your younger version of yourself, what would you say to her?

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:09:52]:
I would say, you can do it. You can. That you. I thought from a young age that I was meant to do something and something meant being out in the public, and now it's turned into the books. But I always thought that my calling was not what my life ended up.

Lauri Wakefield [00:10:15]:
Being, which was, yeah, and we'll get into that. Yeah, yeah.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:10:19]:
Did I. Yeah. I didn't do it because of self confidence. And then when I was going to school, I tell my parents I wanted to go for acting and they laughed at me and said, no, we're not doing that. You're going to go where you can go and get a job. Not.

Lauri Wakefield [00:10:36]:
Yeah, so you ended up getting your BA and Business administration because you can.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:10:41]:
Get a job there and go ahead.

Lauri Wakefield [00:10:44]:
No, I was just gonna say. And so then after you finish college, then what happened in your life? At that point?

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:10:50]:
I. The relationship that I had with this person, they were some guy who said he had a lot of money, was taking them for demos and, oh, we're going to be on a record label. And they went and got all the rocker clothes back in the day, which is platform shoes and all this stuff. And then he and this other guy, they kicked him out of the band. And the thing about when. And it's ha. It does happen a lot is that when you're interested in a band, you're taking all those people and they're creating the thing. So if you change one part of that, you have changed the band. So the band is not the same band anymore. And so they quickly fell apart. So this person that I was with, he had family in Florida and I was just finishing School. And I did not want to. I knew if I went to Florida with him, I would end up being probably married young, all this stuff. And I said, I didn't go to school. I want to go work in Manhattan. So that relationship broke up, and then I started working at that time. It's now Deloitte Touche, but it was Touche Ross. And I was so lucky. I was mentored by a woman who very quickly brought me up to be her assistant. And I had a great job. It was great.

Lauri Wakefield [00:12:39]:
What were you doing?

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:12:41]:
We were in the audit department, and that's the largest department in any accounting firm. And there's about 300 people. And back then, there were secretaries. They weren't called assistants because they were still doing steno and listening to Dictaphones. And so there was about 20 secretaries.

Lauri Wakefield [00:13:08]:
And so anyway, so you ended up meeting your husband there, right? At that job?

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:13:13]:
Yeah, he was a person. He was just not anybody that I would. And he would ask me out to lunch. And honestly, this is the way it started. I am a New York Giants fan, and he was a Dallas Cowboy fan. And we made a bet, and I knew I would lose because the Giants weren't very good then. And I said, okay, I'll take you to lunch. And he flipped that on me and it became dinner. And he was taking me to all the. He came from a very wealthy family to begin with, but he was whining and dining me. And I said to my mentor, I said, I don't want. I don't want to date him. And I said, but he's annoying. And she said, can you just do something so that he's not, like, hanging around your office. Office all the time? And the next thing I know, I did start to date him because he was totally opposite of everybody that I ever dated in my life. And my father was the guys that, yeah, I was bringing home. He hated every one of them.

Lauri Wakefield [00:14:26]:
So he liked this guy, though.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:14:28]:
He liked him. But I think in the back of his mind, he's, like, thought he wasn't right for you. Exactly. And he got a job in Hawaii. And I thought, okay, the relationship was just going to wane. Right? It was going to come to a natural conclusion. And I was fine with that. And then the stalker, the ex boyfriend, was really stalking me. And he came back to New York after three months just to visit. And he asked me to move to Hawaii. And I had this guy who was stalking me. So I said, yeah, I'll move out.

Lauri Wakefield [00:15:09]:
There just to get out of there.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:15:10]:
Just to get out of there. And I always thought I would be back in a year. The company held my job open for a year. Father gave me a one way ticket back and I said, okay, after a year, I'll move back. And I did also have a great job in Hawaii. I worked. It was the largest advertising agency at that time. And I got in there and people have this vision of Hawaii and it's great when you go on vacation, but when you live there every day it takes on a whole different feel. And I was going back. I was going back and I don't know, and I think it was my brother, but they were friends. And I picked up the phone back then, no cell phones, it's just landlines. Right. And he called me and he said, I'll be waiting for you when you get back. And I was like, I can't go back. So then I got engaged.

Lauri Wakefield [00:16:20]:
And you got engaged to the guy in Hawaii?

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:16:23]:
Yes, I did. And I was very. Making wedding plans. And my father, I'm the only girl. My father did made two beautiful weddings. The wedding in Hawaii and then all the family. And he was from New Jersey. So we had another reception in New York. And for me, I was ready to become a mother. And that was, that was where my head was at. I think as a woman, people can't force that on you or whatever. But I was ready. And it was like the bell was going off and I was like, okay, yes, I'm ready to be a mother.

Lauri Wakefield [00:17:08]:
So after you got married, you ended up having three children with them? Three daughters.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:17:12]:
Yeah. My youngest daughter is probably like my biggest joy. She's so carefree. And she went to an excellent school for communications. And after she graduated, I said, communications, you're in New York, go.

Lauri Wakefield [00:17:27]:
Right.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:17:27]:
I want to go to Italy and learn how to become a butcher. And I was like, what? Your children do crazy things. And you're like. So I said, okay, if this is what you really want to do. And.

Lauri Wakefield [00:17:39]:
Yeah. Do you mind if I interrupt you?

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:17:41]:
Yeah.

Lauri Wakefield [00:17:41]:
So you ended up, you raised your children in Hawaii and then you got to the point where, where you just felt like things like it just wasn't working anymore. And so you decided to make a change, right?

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:17:52]:
Yeah. Let's put it this way. I thought there was something wrong with me, right. That everybody looked at my life. He was in the top 50 earners in Hawaii magazine. I lived a very privileged life. We traveled. My kids were the best dressed girls in school. And I. And the creative energy, okay, that was still always there. And I kept waiting for that moment to kick in where I was.

Lauri Wakefield [00:18:20]:
Where you would feel like you were like in love with him.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:18:23]:
Not only in love, but loved where I was living. Because the Hawaiian culture is, you move there and you're not from there. You have to ease into it. And after five years they call you what is a kamaina? Like you're from there. And it's a very close little culture there. And if you're not from there, they have to accept you. Which I was. But I always felt like I didn't.

Lauri Wakefield [00:18:48]:
Believe, like an outsider. Yeah. So, yeah, I was just going to say so I think Barb had some questions about, like when you decided to actually make the change, when you decided to actually file for divorce. Because there was. Because it wasn't a bad marriage, it was just that you felt unfulfilled in it. So I think that Barb wanted to ask you a couple questions about that.

Barb Jacques [00:19:06]:
I think for many listeners, I think especially in the age group of listeners that we have, they might be thinking and struggling with the same thing that you are. I have it all. What's the matter with me? Why do I want to leave? Where did you find that courage to just know it was no longer right for you and it was time to go. So what advice could you give a listener?

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:19:27]:
And I've had several friends who questioned me on this. When I was living there, I used to walk 10 miles with my best friend around Diamond Head. And as we would walk together, we were both talking about how miserable we were, were living there. And for me, I hope this isn't off limits. There was no, like physical anything, a sexless marriage. And for me, I was walking and I was talking to her and I said, I know I'm going down a path that I'm not going to be able to come back from. And I just turned 40. I'm not happy, I'm not, I'm not fulfilled in any way and I don't belong here. I want to take my children and move back to New York. And I had a multitude of people call me and not understand that I had everything I did and why did I want to leave it. And I. The simple answer is I'm not happy. And I have the rest of my life because you're only 40 to find that happiness. I deserve it. I deserve it. I raised my children, I was a stay at home mom. That was my best job, was raising my daughters. The only problem, and this is why I think a lot of women back down, is that especially if you're a housewife, you go to an attorney and they ask you for 10, $20,000 as a deposit, a retainer, and you don't have it. It was very hard to get the money. And I will say this to women, do not go to a female attorney, find a male attorney. I used two female attorneys and they were terrible. And I, I found a guy, he fought for me in my situation. That's what I needed. I got to leave Hawaii after a year and a half and I brought my three daughters to New York. They were very happy to come to New York. And I became a single mother and I was happy to be a single mother. And I was able to have a great job at IBM and I had a phenomenal job at IBM. And then what happen happened was I remarried like six years later and that created a lot of turmoil in my house. And my ex husband was suing me for custody of my kids because I think he always thought we would get back together. And once I remarried, that was the end of that. So I had to deal with a custody battle. And that was a very difficult, dark part in my life. And it was very turmoil where I fell into the depression thing and went on antidepressants. I did not feel that they were ever working for me. And there's no judgment, there's no judgment. And I will say this thing about us women, when we get to that over 40, in your 20s and 30s, women are, you're jealous and they're rivals. And as we get older, I think women, we need women more than we need men. We need that sisterhood.

Lauri Wakefield [00:22:32]:
Right? Yeah.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:22:33]:
Of just because we've all lived lives and we can. So I lean on my female friendships a lot at this point in my life. I think they're very important. And women support women.

Lauri Wakefield [00:22:49]:
Yeah, I was just going to say. So let's talk about the series. It's called the Perfection Saga. So that's something that you had brewing inside of you for a lot of years. Like where, but probably wasn't. Were you actually thinking like maybe 20 to 30 years prior, like of actually writing or it was just something that you just thought about things over time. And then it was like you got to the point where, wow, I could write some, I could write some books. And you had so much to say that it became like a six book series.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:23:13]:
Yeah, it was something I had in my head for years. And I, like I said I have other stories that fit that mold, but I put them on my mental bookshelf for right now and they were Black and white vignettes. And I said, I kept saying, first I thought it would be a great movie, and then I said, no, wait, I should be writing this. And I thought that for many years. And then your kids go to college and you do this and you do that. And even though you're thinking it's. I don't have time to sit down and write this. And the story started coming to me really heavily here. And I'm an empty nester. I have a 4,500 square foot house, I'm cleaning the house. And the story is starting to come very quickly. And I always knew. Three years ago, I said I should be writing this book and even had a song picked out that I thought would be a great song to introduce my book. So I thought that far into it, I was cleaning my house, the story starts coming to me in color, and I'm like, oh, wow, this is. I went into the shower and this is legitimately what happened. I turned it on. This story flow through me. The names of the characters, where they were gonna. Where it was starting, and I said, oh, no. Oh, no. Yep, now's the time. And I got my laptop and I started writing it.

Lauri Wakefield [00:24:33]:
Yeah, I was gonna ask some people I know, like, they'll actually type it out or write it out, but. Or speak it out. So you did. You actually did it like on the computer.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:24:41]:
I did it on the computer now because the female lead character, she is basically me, except it's fiction.

Lauri Wakefield [00:24:48]:
Right.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:24:49]:
So I'll. Some of the things that happen in the books actually happened to me or things that were said were actually said to me. So it's very hard for me now to break the. The character's name is Gina. And Gina. I. It was like that name came to me and that wouldn't have been a name I thought of, but in this story, that's the name. And she's like me in the way she deals with certain things, but I wasn't 20 years old and married. She falls madly in love the first night with this. This beautiful guy from Canada, and they're both madly in love. That didn't happen to me. And I wasn't in a band, but she has my characteristics. And I have been on podcasts where somebody has read the book and they said, there's this scene. Did you. And I always say, if you read my books and there's something you want to know, did I do it? I'll be happy to answer you, but I'm not going to give it away. You have to read the book. And I'll tell you if I really did that or if I really said that. And as I'm getting into it, I feel her feelings. I'm writing it down and I'm crying.

Lauri Wakefield [00:26:00]:
As if you actually experienced it, Right?

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:26:03]:
Yes. And it's. Now, I have a very symbiotic relationship with her because we're like one person and I'm creating her destiny. But I know the road that she would go on because it would be the road that I would take.

Lauri Wakefield [00:26:20]:
Yeah. So I was going to ask you. So the characters in all six of the books, they're going to be the same characters, like the same main characters, and then probably other people.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:26:28]:
What I do is because they're a band and there's actually three main characters. It's the female and male lead, but her cousin is in there, too. But then I branch out. Like, her parents become very much a big part of her life. And then there's the other band members and then there's their manager. And then I have two antagonists that keep showing up and messing things up. So I do try to branch everybody out to have their own storyline. As I'm in book six, which I had to leave, they all start to have a bigger storyline because. And I'm going to kill off two characters because it just makes it more interesting. But I know the path that everybody's going to go on and it's not always wonderful. The two main characters are very much in love, but have had a lot of heartache, a lot of things that have happened to them. So, yes, it's a very deep love story between the two of them, but there are other things around them or things that happen in their life that aren't happy. It's a romance, but everything in life isn't beautiful. And I will say for all the other books that I have, I have noticed, and I noticed it a couple of months ago because I know what the other stories are going to be about. It's usually a very strong female lead and she's always going to come from money. All the characters in my head have money to prove the point that just because you have money, it doesn't mean your life is perfect. And I lived it, so I know. So I want women to. You can have this stuff, but that doesn't make your life perfect.

Lauri Wakefield [00:28:16]:
Right.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:28:17]:
You have to work to make your life be the way you want to. You are in control of everything in your life to make that happiness.

Lauri Wakefield [00:28:27]:
When you were younger, did you ever think about writing? Did you enjoy Writing. Did you write poetry or anything?

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:28:32]:
Okay, well, it was. But as the stories were coming, and like I said it would be this story, that story, this story. I said, maybe I should be writing all this stuff down. I thought I could do a screenplay and it could be a movie. And then it's, why can't it be books? And I think I always thought that would be the route for it. And it's just writing it down, and I'm very specific in even the other books of how it's going to be laid out, this and that. When I wrote the first book, my publishing consultant said, this is two books. You've written 180,000 words, and that's two books. And I still have done that because it's very dialogue driven. And there is narrative when I want to time jump, say, five years. But some of the reviews that I got were because it's dialogue driven. The people felt that they were in the scene, like they were in the room. They were listening to these people talk and what was going on. And that is what I want you to feel. I want you to feel like you're. You're watching this. You're in the room with them as this stuff is going on. So the verbiage takes a while to get out. Yeah. I am constantly moving. I moved part of book four into book five, and then five into six. I honestly believe that it will go to eight books. And that sounds like a lot, but in my head, it's plotted out and there's going to be some real upheaval that goes on.

Lauri Wakefield [00:30:09]:
Yeah. Do you want to ask her any questions? Barb?

Barb Jacques [00:30:11]:
I just wanted to say I really resonated, going back a little bit to how you were cleaning and then you got in the shower, and then you get all these downloads, and your brain finally has that time to shut off and open up to what's really supposed to come through you. And I think it's so beautiful that you're able to take your wisdom of the life that you have lived.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:30:33]:
Wow.

Barb Jacques [00:30:34]:
What a life that the party scene, rock and roll Hawaii, single motherhood, writer, all of this stuff, and then take all that experience and then bring the readers through that with Gina differently, but through that, through the lens of wisdom and. And bring her through. And I just love it. I love it. Yeah. So it's been.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:30:55]:
Thank you.

Lauri Wakefield [00:30:55]:
It's been great.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:30:56]:
I just. I just want to say, too, because we're talking about women, we're all at a certain age, that I feel sorry for the women who don't take that step. Right. That. And it is a frightful thing to do to say, I'm going to change my life totally. But there are a lot of women, and I've talked to some that are just like, I can't get a divorce. I just can't do this. And it's, no, you can't. You can't. It's frightening. And. But you can do it. But to also adjust your life to the different lifestyle. For me, I have now changed my life again. And it. Even with my marriage now, I will say that I went on keto about three years ago. I lost £80. I have just. I changed my look because I felt that there was this transition that was happening in my life. It started with me. Now it's the book. So I believe that thing that I was always supposed to do is now coming out.

Lauri Wakefield [00:31:58]:
So. Yeah. So the books. How many years ago did you publish the first book?

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:32:02]:
A year ago in August. So I'll have three books. I really wanted the third book. It might come out in August. So I will have three books out in a year. I'd like the fourth one to come out in January because I'm going to leave you with a cliffhanger with every book. And I think it's really unfair for me to wait a year. But it is a slow process. And my husband is understanding because he said, okay, we'll use money in our savings account to fund this. And. But he also doesn't understand. He keeps saying, where's the return on investment? And I said, we might not see that for another four or five years. I am trying, heck, to promote my books every way I can.

Lauri Wakefield [00:32:47]:
Yeah. I'm sure that you've had people give you suggestions. Barb, do you have any suggestions, like, other ways she might be able to promote.

Barb Jacques [00:32:54]:
Yeah. So for me, I'll do holistic fairs. I'm on the podcast. I do all of those things just to get out there. And I think giving the backstory really helps to understand what we would be getting into. I'm very interested. I'm going to check them out, and I hope someday to see a screenplay.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:33:12]:
I'll be writing that, by the way.

Lauri Wakefield [00:33:13]:
Right. Yeah, it is. It's super interesting. And it's just because you become very engrossed in what you're writing, like, where you're actually, like, living it as you're writing it.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:33:23]:
Exactly. And I had an author say to me two things. I had one author say, if you are living the characters, then you're doing the right thing. I also had somebody say to me, authors don't like to be. You're different. And my A team has said that to me. They're like, most authors don't want to promote themselves. They don't want. And I said, no, come on. You are actually the brand, right? So you're the writer of these stories. The story is the brand, and you as the author are the brand. You need to be able to talk about what we're doing, talk about anything. Do you know, how did you get there and what shaped your ideas? And like I said, now my life is a little bit different with my daughters, with my husband. It's like I write in the afternoon and evenings and that's my best time.

Barb Jacques [00:34:18]:
Also through local bookstores.

Lauri Wakefield [00:34:20]:
Yeah, I was going to say that, but then I was thinking, like, I don't know what the term like, like a book signing. But I don't know like, how that would.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:34:27]:
I. I did try that. There is a local bookstore in Montgomery, but it was definitely not my audience and have to. But I am doing one in Birmingham and they were happy to have me. And it's Alabama authors. So I'm doing that August, September. And I think that conventions are a way to go. I always. That's why I love doing podcasts. And I don't care what they are. I enjoy meeting people like you and Barb. It's. I've actually done a podcast for a second time with somebody because she loved me so much. And I always tell people, I'll come back on your podcast anytime when book four comes out and you want to talk about the books. I will come, Barbara, and I want to have you back. I'd be like, absolutely. You guys were there from the beginning. Why wouldn't I do it?

Lauri Wakefield [00:35:19]:
No, I was just going to say. So book four, though, did you say that you already have that one?

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:35:23]:
I have it written. I have 4, 5, and 6 written. But now with changes that I made to book three, I now have to go back into book four and move around dates and certain things that happen. And that's fine because it's the whole process. And it is a process. You have to be open to it. And as long. You know. And here's the thing with editors, they always say to you, you don't have to accept my changes or you can accept some because it is your book. And as long as for me, we're taking two pages out because it's been redundant conversation, I'm fine with that. It makes sense. Let's do that. It makes the book move. But there are certain aspects. And I told her, I said, no, this cannot come out because this impacts book four. So this has to stay. That's the kind of relationship you should have with your editor. My editors, they've never slashed my books. They've just said, hey, maybe let's put a little bit more dialogue. Sometimes they'll say, maybe you should add another sex scene. And I'm like, oh, really? I thought I had enough in there. But you want another one? Okay. Because I've been in book clubs and I know how us women feel about that thing. Women do love to read sex, except you have to do it in a very. I don't want to say nice. Where you're sugarcoating it, because you're not. You're explaining it. But there's certain words that we don't want. We don't want, and there's certain. So you have to make it in a way. I know what's acceptable and what goes over the line, and I don't go over the line. I make it. It's a romantic love.

Lauri Wakefield [00:37:06]:
Exactly. Exactly.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:37:07]:
Two people who are in love with each other.

Lauri Wakefield [00:37:10]:
And it's not just sex for sex. Yes.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:37:13]:
No, it's not gratuitous sex.

Lauri Wakefield [00:37:15]:
Yeah. You know what? Why don't we have you back on when you get, like, when book three comes out, when that gets published. We'll do that.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:37:22]:
Okay, I'll let you know.

Lauri Wakefield [00:37:23]:
It should be August, so that's going to wrap things up for this episode today. Thanks so much for joining us today. If you'd like more information about Beth, you can visit her website@perfection saga.com I'll link to her website in the show notes and I'll also link to her Instagram and TikTok pages. If you'd like to see the show notes for today's podcast, you can find them on my website@inspiredlivingforwomen.com the show notes will be listed under Podcast show notes, episode 22. And if you'd like to join me as I continue my conversations with other guests exploring topics with women over 40, please be sure to subscribe to the Inspired Living for podcast. Thanks again and have a great day.

Barb Jacques [00:37:59]:
Thank you, everyone.

Beth Pellino-Dudzic [00:38:00]:
Yeah. Thank you. Get out there, ladies.