Florence Osmund

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Since I retired from my corporate job in 2009, I’ve published four novels and will release a fifth one next month. Little did I know when I started writing books that I would spend almost as much time marketing them and building a platform for myself.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Living with Markus” will be released next month. It’s about a thirty-year-old man who repeatedly shoves his own dreams aside to run to the aid of his dysfunctional family members. When he finally realizes his true purpose in life, it isn’t at all what he thought it would be.

I try to write stories that make readers think about what they would do in a similar situation. What inspired this particular story was a series of “what if” statements. What if a family member came to you for help with something? Well, everyone has been in that situation. What if more than one family member came to you for help? Probably still not that uncommon. But what if helping them disrupted your own life and you saw no end in sight? What would you do then?

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think I have any unusual writing habits unless you consider jumping up every time my eighteen-year-old kitty calls for me from another room. Hey, isn’t it about time for a few more treats? Can you pet me for about five minutes and then I’ll jump off your lap and do my own thing. Or come watch me walk across the room to my cat bed. I just love that one.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have always admired Dennis Lehane for his storytelling ability and Nicholas Sparks for character development.

What are you working on now?
My current project is about a middle-aged novelist who thinks her husband has been mimicking the actions of some of the characters in the cozy mystery books she writes. What has her particularly worried is that her current book is about a husband who contemplates doing away with his wife. She’s changed the ending several times.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use a variety of sites to promote my books, but BookBub by far has resulted in the greatest ROI, exposure, and number of reviews. They are one of the most expensive book promotion sites and accept only a fraction of the submissions they receive, but because of their huge subscriber base and the fact that they don’t promote very many titles per genre at the same time, they are the best game in town, at least in my opinion.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
On my website www.novelelements.com I share everything I’ve learned about writing and promoting novels. There I talk about writing techniques that work, establishing your author platform, recognizing scams, where to promote your books, and more.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Read, read, and then read some more. Become aware of what draws you to the author or book and then do the same.

What are you reading now?
I am a reviewer for indieBRAG and am currently reading an English author’s debut novel.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I hope what’s next for me as a writer is the ability to continue publishing one book per year and make enough money to fund a nice vacation or two with each one.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Can I bring my Kindle?

Author Websites and Profiles
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Florence Osmund Amazon Profile

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