Molly Divine, who has been in the book business for 40 years--for the past 25 years as a rep at Flaherty & Associates--is retiring at the end of the year. "There is never, really, a perfect time to make a major life change," she wrote. "But sometimes, the next opportunity presents itself, and instead of saying, not yet, maybe later, you look toward the future and say yes."
In 1968, Divine was hired as a receptionist at Johnson Printing (& Publishing) in Boulder, Colo. In the early '70s, she joined the staff at Columbine Books and Records in Denver, since "she already spent so much time there." She next moved to the sales staff of Gordon's Books, the onetime book wholesaler in Denver. In 1987, she became Simon & Schuster's Rocky Mountain sales rep. (During that interview, she recalled, when asked why they should hire her, she replied she would be a very dedicated and loyal employee, she really needed a company car, and she could already spell Albuquerque.)
In 1992, she became a sales rep for Faherty & Associates, based first in Denver, then Northern California and Oregon, and eventually became Faherty's in-house telemarketing rep.
In 2007, she was named Gordon Saull sales rep of the year by the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association.
As for retirement plans, Divine said she's "keen on adventures"--she loves travel and has visited all seven continents. She's been a volunteer in El Salvador, Nepal and Kenya, and has walked 500 miles on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. This past summer, she and her husband, Gary Baker, and several friends became owners of the Hush Valley Lodge and trout farm in Costa Rica.
