Karen E. Osborne
KAREN E. OSBORNE’s novels followed a forty-year career, first as an academic administrator and then co-owner of The Osborne Group, serving as a consultant, trainer, and motivational speaker. Now Karen writes women’s fiction/suspense novels full time.
Getting It Right, published by Akashic Books, came out in June 2017, and was featured in Essence Magazine and Poets & Writers. Tangled Lies, Black Rose Writing, was released on July 22, 2021. It was chosen as a 2021 BestThriller.com finalist. Reckonings is due out on June 16, 2022.
Karen also promotes other writers on her vlog, What Are You Reading? What Are You Writing?
Native New Yorkers living in Florida, Karen and her husband Robert have two grown children and three grandsons.
Twitter: @kareneosborne
Are there particular films that have influenced your writing?
Movies teach me a lot. For example, I watch them to hone my “show don’t tell” skills. How can I convey character emotions without naming them? Great actors demonstrate this all the time. Kate Winslet, Denzel Washington, Tessa Thompson, Cate Blanchard – actors who become their characters. I also study movies that were books first. They help me with setting and atmosphere. Skillful writing requires constant learning!
What period of history do you wish you knew more about?
My first three novels take place in the present day and in cities and towns in which I lived. But my current work-in-progress takes place in 1924. In truth, I hate research. If I could afford to pay someone, (anyone out there interested in a no-pay opportunity?) I’d hire a researcher. The Roaring Twenties of the 1900s and the Wild Twenties of today, are setting up an intriguing juxtaposition. So, I’ve stepped out of my writing comfort zone and I’m creating my first historical novel.
What is your favorite comic book or graphic novel?
I became a debut author at the age of sixty-nine and now I’m seventy-three (you’re never too old and it’s never too late). As a grandmother of three boys, I’ve read a LOT of graphic novels. We read together, we discuss the books, we laugh, and critique. It’s great fun. The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey and the Dog Man series by Dav Pilkey, have given us reading happiness.
Vacation druthers… City or rural and why?
I’ve been fortunate – paid to travel the US and the world as a speaker and workshop leader for education institutions, hospitals, and nonprofit organizations. Because my husband and I were in business together, we were able to travel as a couple -- Asia, Africa, Australia, Canada, Mexico, every country in Europe and every state in the union. So, vacations tend to be quieter affairs. Frequent trips to New York to see our family and local beach vacations to enjoy the ocean. When I consider a bigger trip, it is to a city I’ve never been to or a favorite city I’d like to visit at least one more time.
What’s the difference between being a writer and an author? How do you shift between the two?
This question is particularly relevant. Author me has a lot of marketing to do – two books out including one released a few months ago (Getting It Right and Tangled Lies) and another dropping on June 16, 2022 (Reckonings). Writer me has a work-in-progress, several short stories in search of a home, and a fifth novel brewing in my head. The balance is hard to strike, especially because I’m also an active volunteer, wife, mother, grandmother, and friend. I still accept gigs from my previous life as well – speaker and workshop leader helping nonprofits. And I must take care of myself -- exercise, read, learn something new. Whew! I try to write every day, even for 15 minutes. Every week, I complete at least a chapter of my new book and do something to market my novels. The good news is, I love everything I’m doing. Joy, purpose, love, and gratitude fill my life. Can’t ask for more than that.
