Maven 5Q Beth Lisogorsky

Deep love for romance

Beth Lisogorsky

I’m a writer and business consultant with a deep love for romance and relationship-driven storytelling across books, film, television, and music. I’ve completed an upmarket romance novel, slated for publication in February 2027 with Empress Editions, and I write You Need to Watch This!, a TV and film recommendation Substack I launched in February 2021.

By day, I draw on years of cross-industry experience in consumer marketing and program management; by night, I analyze and write about the media that shapes how we think about love, connection, and culture. My latest venture is leading a monthly Virtual Romance Book Club for the Ashland Library—an experience I love because each month features a different subgenre, giving readers the freedom to choose their own book while connecting through shared themes. It’s a joyful way to recommend romance and build community across the genre.

What is the most surprising part of being in this stage of life?

The most surprising part of this stage of life is how little time there seems to be. I never feel as though I have enough of it to do everything I want. My drive hasn’t faded. If anything, it’s more focused now. That impulse has been a throughline in my life. In my twenties, my ambition was high, though often accompanied by a quiet melancholy. What surprises me most is that the need to create is still so strong, even as I hold so many other roles: mother, wife, sister, daughter, friend.

What’s one new thing you’re trying to embrace in mid-life?

One new thing I’m trying to embrace in midlife is slowing down—taking intentional pauses to really listen to myself, and then act. I’ve always moved at a fast pace (I’m a double air sign, Rising and Sun), and as an adult, I’ve overcorrected for the indecisiveness I was labeled with as a child by becoming extremely action-oriented and communicative. There is a lot of mental fatigue and emotional load inherent in all of that. Sometimes, forgetting things is the only way I actually slow down. It forces me to stop and listen more closely. Lately, I love solo drives and going to the theater alone; I get to be with my thoughts, and they’re not nearly as scary as they once were.

Meet me in the comments:

I agree with Beth, the need to create is so strong in this period of time despite all of our life roles (mother, daughter, friend, sister).

How about you?

If you could give yourself a piece of advice 20 years ago, what would it be and why?

I’d tell myself to save everything I write on hard copies. Every column, every blog post, especially the ones I wrote for online publications in the early aughts. One day, those sites won’t exist, and neither will that Sex and the City–inspired dating column I poured myself into. I’d also say this: start keeping a journal early. Write things down, even when they feel ordinary. One day, you may want to write a memoir, and you’ll wish you had a record of who you were when you didn’t yet know the ending.

What’s something that our generation had access to that you’d like to bring back?

I’d bring back the Sony Sports Walkman. Technically, they still exist, but nothing has ever replicated that feeling. I spent countless hours listening to cassettes and making mixtapes—Steve Winwood, Prince, Whitney Houston, Cher, Peter Cetera, Pet Shop Boys, Erasure. Music felt tactile then, intentional.

True story: I only started to feel comfortable going out in public alone as a kid once I had one. It gave me something to anchor to—my focus on the music instead of the noise, the crowds, the world around me. In that way, it wasn’t just a music player; it was a small kind of freedom.

If the next 20 years of your life had a theme, what would it be and why?

The theme would be Be the teacher. Slowing down has helped me recognize that one of my greatest strengths is helping others. It’s something that feels deeply inherited—my maternal grandmother, whom I never met, was a nurse, and my grandfather was a doctor. Service is in my DNA.

Embracing this role means being comfortable stepping back, guiding rather than leading from the front, and finding purpose in supporting others as they grow. It’s a quieter kind of impact, but one that feels truer than ever. Considering I’ve never gravitated to the spotlight it’s something that feels authentic too.

Links for Beth:

Beth’s Romance:

March Book Club Sign Up (Omegaverse Theme) https://ashlandmass.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/hybrid-romance-book-club-omegaverse-2/

April Sign Up: (Secret Identity Theme)

https://ashlandmass.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/hybrid-romance-book-club-secret-identity/

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The Maven5Q is an interesting midlife exercise….everyone has a different point of view they bring to the questions and that is what I find fascinating. You will, too!

Meet me in the comments:

I agree with Beth in that there doesn’t seem to be enough time to get done all that I hope to accomplish. How about you?