Peterborough’s Carol Koeslag didn’t imagine herself becoming a fast-selling published writer at 92 years old — and she certainly didn’t imagine herself going viral on TikTok.
But she’s managed to do both within the last week, after beginning to stock her short story collection in the Modern Makers Market shop in Peterborough. When shop owner Chantel Coyle posted about Koeslag’s book Spice of Life: A Variety of Reflections on social media, she captured the hearts of readers not only in Peterborough, but — incredibly — across the globe.
For Koeslag, the book began as a series of stories the retired social worker had written several years ago. Though there’s not one theme linking the short stories, Koeslag has seemingly invented her own genre for the collection, which she calls “fictionalized realities.”
“One or two or three of them really did happen, and I wrote about that,” she explains, using the example of the “crazy” story about her husband using an air pistol to get the crows to stop cawing. “But (for) some of the other ones I had one or two points of reference, and from there I just imagined what the people were thinking and then I wrote that.”
She says it’s not “the great Canadian novel,” but rather a book you can pick up and put down, full of a handful of independent stories, some up to eight pages long while others are just a page or two.
She first began writing in the 1990s when she retired to Peterborough with her husband after raising her family of four children in Whitby. Though she explains that she was only writing them because it made her feel “happy,” after sharing them for feedback, several friends encouraged her to get them published. And so she did.
“It’s not something I ever planned to do in my life, but it’s working out to be a very happy addition to my life,” she says.
Since April, Koeslag — who now lives alone in her own home after the death of her husband eight years ago — has sold a few of her books through the Activity Haven spring fair and to some friends from her church.
But then one day last week, she stepped into Coyle’s store on the recommendation of a friend and everything changed for her book sales.
Coyle explains that it was a “special circumstance” getting to chat with Koeslag that afternoon, as usually she manages the behind-the-scenes administration of the shop and isn’t often on the floor.
“It was one of those things where I just felt like it was meant to be,” Coyle says. “It just seemed really courageous (for Koeslag) to just waltz on in and approach to see if I would sell her book.”
At first, Coyle only stocked about 15 of Koeslag’s books in the Modern Makers Market shop. After they sat for a few days, she decided to make a quick social media post about Koeslag and her book.
@modernmakersmarketshop Imagine being so cool in your 90s #confidence #modernmakersmarket #mmshop #author #selfpublished ? original sound – Modern Makers Shop
According to Coyle, things blew up from there. She then posted a TikTok video of her calling Koeslag to explain that her book had sold out in store and to ask if she would print more. That TikTok quickly went viral and is now almost at 250,000 views.
“Within like six to nine hours, I think we sold 135 copies,” explains Coyle, adding that the number is still growing as her video continues to circulate.
Now Coyle is waiting to get more of Koeslag’s books, with the expectation that the 200 available copies will be sold out very soon through pre-orders. The next printing will include an additional insert and one extra story compared to the first printing.
Coyle says she enjoys being able to help someone achieve their goals and think that’s part of the draw for why it has such a big reach on TikTok.
“(Viewers) also see just how special it is that at whatever age you’re at, you can just do what you want,” she explains, adding that it’s also inspiring to see people being supportive in their creative pursuits.
“When people talk about writing a book or following their creative dreams, there isn’t always a lot of support for that because it doesn’t make you a living or whatever it is. For some people, they don’t get a lot of encouragement to follow those kind of creative avenues in their lives and so I think that’s a relatable thing for people to see (through Carol).”
Based on the TikTok’s comment section, people are also largely drawn to Koeslag’s story because of its relatability, with many commenting that their own retired grandparents were finally sharing their own stories.
Coyle points out many of the pre-orders are coming in not only from across Canada, but from as far as the United States, Europe, and Australia.
The rapid success of her writing career comes as a shock to Koeslag, who admits she never imagined this for herself.
“It’s just rather unbelievable,” she says. “I just think this dream beyond dreams has gone beyond dreams.”
Koeslag says she never could have been able realize her dream without support from Dr. Elwood Jones, who helped get her work edited and published, as well as Coyle who brought attention to the collection — especially since you won’t find Koeslag doing her own TikToks anytime soon.
“My feeling is that it doesn’t matter how old you are, you have to try what you want to do,” Koeslag notes. “You might not do it, but you have got to try. I like to encourage people: don’t sell yourself short. Give yourself a chance and you’re worth something. Everybody is worth something.”
To snag a copy of Koeslag’s collection before it sells out again, visit modernmakersmarket.ca.
