Maven 5Q: Elaine M. Wolff
Elaine M. Wolff
I’m a former editor of the San Antonio Current and Out In SA magazine. I co-hosted the Radical Mothers’ Voice on KO.OP Austin in the late Nineties. I’ve worked as a bartender, a house-flipper, and a home lender, and if you need something special for your holiday outfits this year, I have a stunning collection of midcentury American costume jewelry.
For a thrilling decade, I was a scriptwriter, emcee, and dancing coffee cup for Fiesta Cornyation, which raises funds for AIDS-related charities and theater scholarships. In 2018, I impulse-purchased an old mining claim in the Rocky Mountains, with two uninhabitable cabins, the cutest outhouse in Colorado, and a creek running through it.
I’m mom to four wonderful adult children. Currently I split my time between Buena Vista CO and Scottsdale AZ with my husband Michael and the Cairn Terrierists Louis and Oliver. My first novel, Up to Her Neck, a midlife-adventure murder mystery, will be published by Empress Editions in August 2026.
What is the most surprising thing about being in this stage of life?
How healthy and young I feel with a few small adjustments (a little less wine and tequila, a little more exercise, good sleep)
What’s one new thing you’re trying to embrace in mid-life?
Going to live music events again - everything from opera to rock to country. It’s so inspiring to watch artists putting it out there in front of an audience. I always leave filled up and grateful to be alive.
If you could give yourself a piece of advice 20 years ago, what would it be and why?
Buy more vintage and don’t purge too many clothes. Like most humans, I tend to assume that what’s around now will always be here (despite all evidence to the contrary). When I think of the estate sales and thrift stores I passed up … this can be extrapolated to experiences and passions in general, of course.
What’s something that your generation had access to that you’d like to bring back?
True solitude. Social media and the constant presence of others through technology can rob us of the chance to dig into our personal well of identity and creativity.
If the next 20 years of your life had a theme, what would it be and why?
“Jump in,” which for me means to take part in as many experiences that speak to me as I can, to spend time with friends and family, to support others in their life’s work. My mother died in 2022, shortly after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer. She said often that she had no regrets, but she also told me how much she would miss swimming. What is that little everyday thing that you love, that brings you joy? Do it now.
More about Elaine!
MEET ME IN THE COMMENTS!
I’d like to discuss what Elaine said below. It is sadly true that we rarely are without a phone or device that connects us somewhere. And, It’s hard to be unconnected. People expect us to be connected.
Do you bring your phone into the bathroom? What if someone calls? Do you answer? What about flushing? Don’t pretend you don’t know what I'm talking about….
“What’s something that your generation had access to that you’d like to bring back?
True solitude. Social media and the constant presence of others through technology can rob us of the chance to dig into our personal well of identity and creativity. “
🏈And…GO PATS!
 | A guest post by
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Ummmm…. NO I do not take my phone in the bathroom: I don’t appreciate talking with someone who is in the bathroom; and really don’t even want to think about it. Eeeek! I’m also not phone obsessed and sometimes purposely leave it at home to get a true break from the constant connection. Anything in its extreme is generally not good for us. I also don’t ever have my ringer on (I don’t have children), and I rarely answer a call (unless I am in the rare mood to talk with someone). Listen, I grew up in the 80s (with a wall phone). I can happily live without one. I did not spend hours on the phone with friends when I was a teenager either. I love solitude, quiet, and meaningful connection—-like once a month. Have you guessed yet that I am an introvert with a capital “I” yet? I genuinely feel bad for people ams kids who have come up in this world… in more ways than one. I am supremely grateful to have grown up in the analog world. And mostly get to live my life using tech minimally.
I’m really looking forward to reading Elaine’s debut novel! And I want to know more about that old mining claim in CO. When I visit family, we often go for drives in the foothills and beyond—there’s so much history over there.