My story is fairly similar to yours in many respects, doing my first “print” book, in about 1993 using commodore equipment, plus a FAXED newsletter first free, then for yearly subscription. Then book deals with McGraw-Hill, websites…etc.
It’s been such a fun ride that I continue to work on my websites, redesigning and writing, despite the fact I’m officially “retired”.
Perhaps a novel in store for me? Maybe. Or another few books. But right now, I’m not inspired to work that hard.