when I say I write books about people getting superpowers at midlife & the response is, “Wouldn’t that be great? Can’t wait for my power to arrive!”

I chuckle, bc I am polite, but inside, I’m thinking, “Would it be great, tho? Would it really?”

Fun to write about, yes. But fun to have? Sure, assuming it improved options & agency, but there’s a lot of unexamined privilege in that assumption.

I think about that a lot when I’m writing.

Coming-of-age power fantasy might not be fantastic for people who have already accumulated multiple decades of life baggage, traumas, & obligations.

Personal power has limited reach, just like (non-billionaire) personal wealth. Gaining more doesn’t magically fix societal problems. And sometimes it can create friction with existing systems.

I think midlife superpowers would be more intersectional than transformative. That’s all I’m saying.

(IMHO, YMMV & all the usual internet caveats apply.)