Area author 'Over the Hill,' but 'Gaining Speed'

Posted 3/31/17

Kay Steinkirchner Rock, 71, who lived in Chestnut Hill, then Erdenheim and then Flourtown from 1973 to 2005, is the author of the delightful, recently published book, "Over the Hill and Gaining …

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Area author 'Over the Hill,' but 'Gaining Speed'

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Kay Steinkirchner Rock, 71, who lived in Chestnut Hill, then Erdenheim and then Flourtown from 1973 to 2005, is the author of the delightful, recently published book, "Over the Hill and Gaining Speed: Reflections in Retirement.”[/caption]

by Len Lear

Countless would-be authors and hopeful contributors to newspapers and magazines ask how they can get start getting their material published. One person who could give them some sound advice is Kay Steinkirchner Rock, 71, author of the recently published book, "Over the Hill and Gaining Speed: Reflections in Retirement," a compilation of charming, folksy first-person observational essays that “chronicle life's journeys, both literal and spiritual.”

Rock lived in Chestnut Hill from 1973 to 1999, when she sold her home and moved to Erdenheim. Eventually she bought another home in Flourtown, where she lived until 2005, when she moved to Doylestown and married Steve Rock, a Ph.D. chemist who worked in the chemical industry for 27 years and is an “above-average husband.”

“I didn’t use my maiden name in the book,” Kay told us, “because once I remarried, I chose to use Kay G. Rock as my official name on documents, checks, books, etc. My maternal grandfather always said Steinkirchner was a name you could sneeze better than say. It’s a tad cumbersome.  Kay Rock is a fun name because it’s also the call numbers for radio stations in NY and LA (92.3 FM).”

Rock was a stay-at-home mom for 10 years and after a divorce made her way into corporate America, mostly in a variety of human resource jobs. In the late 1990s she  lost her job and was provided with career transition services by Right Management, a global career services and human resources firm. The company eventually hired her as a career consultant.

It was during this time that Jim Remsen, editor of the LifeStyles section of the Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer asked her to contribute to a recurring column on careers based on an editorial she had sent to the paper. After five years she changed careers, moved into sales for the company and became a vice-president of sales until Dec. 31, 2010, when she retired at age 65.

“As retirement approached,” Rock explained, “I started feeling the impact of the transition and uncertainty of what retiring would be like for me, so I started writing a blog to work through my thoughts and feelings. Once I finally made the decision and put a date to it, I send out two query letters with squibs from my blogs and a stated desire to write a regular column.

“Bridget Wingert, editor of the Bucks County Herald, responded almost immediately.  My first column was published January, 2011. The columns were well received in the community, and many people, my husband included, urged me to compile them into a book. Eventually I decided to do just that, and resigned from the Herald (after five years) to work on the book as well as tend to a busy life full of grandchildren, travel and wonderful friends and family.”

Rock, who was raised in Buffalo, NY, graduated from Russell Sage College in Troy, NY, in 1967 with a B.A. in Spanish and a minor in Economics. As a single working mom, she attended Temple University for an MBA with a concentration in marketing and graduated in 1991, one year before her oldest son graduated from Northeastern University in Boston.

Rock, who now lives in Doylestown, “loved my years living in Chestnut Hill, such a charming, walkable neighborhood, filled with culture, train service to center city and many wonderful friends and neighbors. The church of St Martin in the Fields was an important anchor and resource in my life for which I will always be grateful. Doylestown has similar characteristics. I wouldn’t have left the Chestnut Hill area otherwise! They are both very special neighborhoods.”

What does Rock regard as her greatest achievement? "There are many kinds of achievements; my greatest ones would have to do with personal relationships. Apart from that, holding 'Over the Hill and Gaining Speed' in my hand is still a little surreal and wonderful."

One of Rock's heroes is her grandfather, who worked beside John L. Lewis in founding the United Mine Workers. “In terms of living heroes, any one of the people I profiled in the book would qualify. So many people are my heroes.”

What is Rock's biggest pet peeve? "I’m a Virgo. Everything peeves me! But I’m mellowing with age.”

Kay Rock is also the author of a Kindle eBook entitled "Everything I Know About Relationships I Learned Dancing." It is available at www.amazon.com. For more information about "Over the Hill," visit www.kaygrock.com

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