Photos courtesy of Steven Hemmert

He proposes.  She says yes.  They get married and live happily ever after.  Well, that is how the story is supposed to go, but it doesn’t always happen that way.  Sometimes even the greatest of marriages end in divorce, leaving you back at square one, right where you began…single.
The thought of re-entering the dating scene after heartbreak can be quite daunting, and oftentimes like a roller coaster of emotions.  You have your funny and not so funny moments, happy and sad times, the excitement of being single and ready to mingle, and the loneliness of waiting for cupid to shoot his arrow.  Throughout it all, the search for love and romance can often turn into a discovery about yourself and your journey back into the world of love.
Meet Stephen Hemmert, Agua Dulce resident and author of Dating and the 50-Year Old Man. With a passion for writing combined with his dating experience, you have a beautifully written book about the “strange yet joyful journey into the world of middle aged dating.”
Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Stephen headed west to Los Angeles to give the music scene a shot.  “We were part of a band called The Benders,” said Stephen. “In 1981, we parted ways and my brother and I started the group, The Heartbeats.” His claim to fame, as Stephen states, was when he faked the keyboards to Robert Palmer’s Addicted to Love on Solid Gold.
After dabbling in the music industry, Stephen began a new chapter in his life…marriage and becoming a father, then after 16 years, found himself single, and “back on the market” once again. Re-enter the dating scene.
“Growing up in Oklahoma, I was taught to be a gentleman,” says Stephen, “a southern gentleman, so needless to say after 22 and a half years of being in only two relationships, I was quite blown away and wasn’t really prepared for what was to come of the dating scene.”
“Why does everything have to move so rapidly?  What ever happened to the allure of getting to know one another?” asks Stephen.
“I started writing memoirs about these dates.  It was almost as if it was catharsis for me.  Dating nowadays was so different than back in the 70’s.  There was no Internet, no constant communication, if we had to talk, we either picked up a phone and called on the landline, wrote a letter or actually stopped by to visit, in person.  Now, there are so many ways of communication, even making the ‘meeting process’ easier with the popularity of online dating.  And yet with the many dating sites, there are still so many people who are single.”
Dating and the 50 Year Old Man is a book of memoirs and is a definite must read.  Many of the dates Stephen records have taken place in the Santa Clarita Valley.  Names have been slightly changed, but the events did take place.  “There are a lot of people who are divorced and single in this valley,” states Stephen.  “Many will probably relate to what I have gone through.”
Stephen hopes that the book can help other singles enter or re-enter the world of dating.  “There is no formula for love, that wasn’t the point of the book,” states Stephen.  “It’s just my journey in the dating world.”
Come meet Stephen as he will be signing his book at Barnes & Noble on 23630 Valencia Boulevard on Saturday, January 5, at noon. Books will be available for purchase as well.
Dating and the 50-Year-Old Man is available on BarnesandNoble.com and Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle editions.   For more information about the book, visit www.datingandthe50-year-oldman.com.