ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Starting as co-authors living high in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, GaGa Gabardi and Judilee Butler were fascinated with the state’s mining history—thanks to the National Mining Museum in Leadville. On a September morning in 2019, they collaborated on a short story for an anthology fundraiser for the museum and the Phoebe Korneal Mystery Series was born: THE LAST HURRAH A PHOEBE KORNEAL MYSTERY, followed by THE LAST SLIDE A PHOEBE KORNEAL MYSTERY and now THE LAST LINE A PHOEBE KORNEAL MYSTERY.
This initial story sparked a passion for developing quirky characters and strong, stalwart women. Then filter in the value of life in a small town as a backdrop and an excuse popped up for the fun use of Colorado history. Throw in a mystery, a relentless female deputy sheriff, the small town of Oresville, Colorado, at an altitude of ten-five, and you have a fun read. What a ride!
They are co-retired, co-authors, but not co-located. Modern technology has led these co-authors down the yellow brick road of storytelling—Judilee in Wyoming, GaGa in Colorado.
Next up? The Phoebe prequel: Her life, romance, and career in Salt Lake City, Utah, before she moved to Oresville, Colorado. Out now and better yet, sign up for the newsletter for progress reports! Check out the BONUS page of this website for a lucrative offer.
GAGA GABARDI
Safe landing in the Mooney!
Christmas Author Fest at a local library
Lotsa mountains to explore
GAGA GABARDI
JUDILEE BUTLER
I'm livin' large in the Rockies—retired from other careers like in telecom and consulting. Then a grandson named me GaGa—it stuck!
In 2020 I discovered writing with Judilee...a daily joy!
Our Gal, Deputy Phoebe Korneal, is a wannabe detective in a man's world. This makes for a platform for our stories and opinions as she solves the crime!
We hope you enjoy the series, get a chuckle here and there, learn a bit of Colorado history, and at the end, wonder what happens next.
Who really wants to retire? After a career in teaching and a longer career with IBM I thought I was ready for the halcyon days. Then I met GaGa and the fun began.
Together we discovered the fun life of co-authoring. Creating the adventures of our female detective, Phoebe Korneal, has been amazing.
We use technology to connect us every day as we write, edit, laugh, and get close to crying. It's quite the journey. And one I love.
I hope you enjoy our stories as much as we enjoy writing them.
JUDILEE BUTLER
Wyoming Writers Conference fun
The first and only book? Nope!
Every day is amazing at the ocean
Q & A WITH GAGA AND JUDILEE
In discussions with GaGa and Judilee, the question of age was brought up.
QUESTION: "You're both retired from the corporate world and other careers. Writing's a new career for each of you. Was this the plan all along?"
ANSWER: Nope. We're pretty run-of-the-mill, old, retired women. We sat next to one another at a morning mystery writing gathering and it worked. We discovered our complimentary styles, easy-goin' personalities, and we like to poke fun at our observations and opinions ... of which we have plenty.
Our first book hit FINALIST in the Colorado Author League Awards and also a Bronze in the Colorado Independent Publishers Awards/CIPA-EVVY. Yeah!
We knew then this is the bomb. We can share headaches, grow stories, meet talented people, and enjoy the ride.
QUESTION: You've written four books in the series with the prequel just out last: Paperback, e-read, and audio. What has this taught you?
ANSWER: 5 takeaways from reinventing retirement:
01:
YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD TO BE A BEGINNER.
Writing three books in The Phoebe Korneal Mystery series, we are still beginners! So don't wait. Get out there. Try new things. Don't worry about breaking something. Besides, people like to help old ladies.
02:
SHE SUSPECTED SHE COULD, SO SHE DID.
Remember, it's perfectly acceptable to put your toe in first. This baloney about doing the "cannonball" for a start is...well...just baloney. Go ahead, dip the toe, Sister!
03:
GUT INSTINCT DOESN'T START AFTER LOTS OF EXPERIENCE. LISTEN TO IT...
Something tells you to try it, use it, take the offer. That nagging something is your gut instinct. Use it.
04:
"LEAP AND THE NET WILL APPEAR."
Thank you, Philosopher Goethe for this advice. If it's tempting—take the step! Trust in yourself. An ex-husband told someone (not us, just repeating what we heard), "What's the worst that can happen? You could fail? So?"
05:
CHANGE HAPPENS! USING IT IS OPTIONAL.
New motto, "Every day's a new learning curve". Do you need it? Want t' try it? Can you figure it out? Totally up to you.
