Meet the Author Monday: Karen E. Osborne

It’s Meet the Author Monday! Each week we meet a new author and get to know a little about them, their writing process, publishing experience, and tips for other writers. Today we’re talking to Karen E. Osborne, author of “Justice for Emerson“.

About Karen E. Osborne:

MEET KAREN E. OSBORNE, an award-winning and Amazon Kindle best-selling author of five novels – Justice For Emerson, True Grace, Reckonings, Tangled Lies and Getting It Right.

Karen believes in the power of philanthropy, generosity, and service. She built her career and life around these passions. For eighteen of Karen’s forty-seven professional years, she held leadership positions in higher education. For the past 28 years, Karen served first as President and now Senior Strategist at The Osborne Group, an international management, consulting, and training firm.

Karen enjoys a rich volunteer life. The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) awarded her the Crystal Apple for Outstanding Teaching and Public Speaking, and the Ashmore Award for Outstanding Service to the Profession. In addition to volunteering for professional organizations, she serves on the governing board of Easterseals Florida supporting differently abled people, volunteers in her community, and is an Elder in her church. She also hosts a weekly video podcast What Are You Reading? What Are You Writing? supporting fellow authors.

Native New Yorkers living in Florida, Karen and her husband, Robert, have two grown children and three grandsons.

About The Santorini Writing Retreat:

‘“Osborne delivers a heart-pounding, whodunnit murder mystery! Emerson’s Vietnam-era dual timeline will resonate with readers familiar with characters Harry Bosch or Walt Longmire.” —Cam Torrens, author of the Tyler Zahn Mystery series

“A deftly plotted, fast-paced, smoothly written, high-octane read with strongly drawn, relatable characters.” –S. M. Stevens, author of Beautiful & Terrible Things

Aria Wright stumbles upon the body of Vietnam veteran Emerson. Unfortunately, the masked killer sees and threatens her.

Flash back to 1968: Young Emerson is shipped to Vietnam on the day of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. Weeks later, a deadly encounter in Bangkok results in the murder of Emerson’s best friend.

The perilous tale alternates between the troubled life of Emerson from 1968 through the present day and two propulsive and dangerous weeks in March 2024 as Aria and Jax try to solve the mysteries surrounding the murder.

How did Emerson go from veteran to junkie to volunteer at Aria’s nonprofit? And how do the murders, separated by decades, intertwine? Pursuing answers, Aria and Jax find themselves being followed my strange men and pull together to survive. Will love blossom in the midst of terror?

Justice for Emerson, by award-winning author Karen E. Osborne, is a gripping murder mystery, with unexpected plot twists, compelling, well-developed characters, and a dash of romance. Themes of race, family, forgiveness, and redemption permeate while lifting the social issues of homelessness and hunger. Unlock and solve the mystery while rooting for Aria to find love.

Author Interview with Karen E. Osborne:

1. What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?

I’ve been a storyteller all my life. I entertained the neighborhood children with adventures I pretended to experience. They sat on the stoop and listened to each episode. As the story became more fantastical, they’d run and ask my older brother if the story was true, and he always outed me. And yet, the next time, they gathered and listened again.

As a young teen I leant my voice to protests. Stories helped me emotionally escape during harrowing experiences. And later in life, I taught using stories to inspire and encourage action.

The power of language and storytelling continues to permeate my life.

2. What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?

Middle children reading this will understand. I’m a middle child. My older brother and baby brother received all the attention. LOL. Well, I have a middle-book baby–Reckonings. She’s an award-winning novel with a flawed, relatable, harried mother and writer at its center. But she has not received the love my other novels enjoy.

Beyond my books, there are so many. Small presses have limited staff and budgets so authors must do a lot of their own marketing. For example. When Banana Stains Fade: A Jamaican Family Saga of Adversity and Redemption, by Frances Coke is a lyrical, heartbreaking, multi-generational and ultimately hopeful novel worthy of wider readership.

3. How do you balance making demands on the reader with taking care of the reader?

I love this question. The relationship between reader and writer is special. As a suspense novelist, I do make demands on my readers—I ask them to trust me. I ask them to walk into dark places, to witness pain and trauma, to sit in uncertainty, and sometimes to confront difficult truths. My stories have twists and turns, complex timelines, important societal issues, and flawed, deeply human characters. My goal is to get my readers thinking and feeling deeply. But while I challenge them, I also care for them.

I provide moments to breathe, to laugh, to hope. I build suspense, but I also build emotional connection with characters worth rooting for—flawed women fighting for justice, family, love, survival.

4. What comes first, the plot or characters?

My characters talk to me. They share their histories, hopes, fears, strengths, weaknesses, and eventually, their situation which becomes part of the book’s plot. The only time I have trouble putting words to paper is when a character goes silent.

I don’t plan out the story. I let characters take me on a journey. Justice For Emerson, a dual timeline murder mystery, is my latest novel. My husband is always one of my first readers. “Who’s the murderer?” he asked when I was halfway through the book. “I don’t know. He hasn’t revealed himself to me.” LOL. Characters rule!

5. When you’re writing an emotionally draining (or sexy, or sad, etc) scene, how do you get in the mood?

Just as I don’t have to do anything artificial to empathize and connect with a dear friend’s troubles or joys, I approach writing difficult, sad, and sexy scenes the same way, letting my characters lead me. Sometimes I cry with or for them.

They also annoy me at times. “Why are you making the same mistake again?” My process is to connect with the character, be her or him, and then let the words and emotions fly.

6. How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

I’m so fortunate. All five of the novels I’ve completed are published. No books languishing on my computer. My favorite is always my latest.

The first one, Getting It Right, holds a special place in my heart. I accomplished something I’d dreamed of since I was twelve years old. Tangled Lies came out next. I love that one because it was my first murder mystery. While it is still character driven, the plot and clue breadcrumbs demanded new skills. Reckonings is my middle book baby. I love the main character, Roxy. She struggles, makes mistakes, but never gives up. True Grace was inspired by my grandmother. It is historical fiction, set in 1924. Lots of research, which was a first for me. Getting the details right created a new learning and writing experience. Never one to stick to a single genre and always striving to learn, Justice For Emerson is a dual timeline murder mystery with a splash of romance, set in present day where we meet Emerson, the murder victim, and then going back to Vietnam in 1968, where he’s introduced as a young airman. So, it’s my current favorite!

7. Where do you get your inspiration?

Everywhere. I’ll overhear a conversation, someone shares a story with me from their day or week, I’ll read a book that touches or challenges me. Sometimes a word echoes in my head. Or a name.

A friend shared a moving story about a relative who had a child with someone other than his wife. They named her Love. I filed that away. What a terrific name for the right character, one I’ve not yet met.

I enjoy walking. Florida’s sun is strong, so I prefer walking in the cool of twilight. Often, I listen to an audible novel, but lots of times I listen to the evening sounds and enjoy spectacular sunsets. In those quiet times, characters speak to me, ideas emerge, and plot challenges are resolved.

8. Do you write listening to music? If so, what music inspired or accompanied this current book?

In Justice For Emerson, Aria, the protagonist, is 50 years old, so she’s an eighties and nineties child music-wise. She has a playlist in her head that selects just the right song, current or from her teens and twenties, that is perfect for the occasion. Since I’m quite a bit older than Aria, I had to find the right songs that would work for her. I had great fun listening to Michael Jackson, The Police, The Black Eye Peas, DMX, and Toni Braxton, to name a few.

Since the book is dual timeline, and music played a significant part during the Vietnam war, I also listened to sixties and seventies oldies, just as Emerson and buddies did.

9. What advice would you give a new writer, someone just starting out?

I wrote a piece about this. You can find it here. https://www.kareneosborne.com/post/13-lessons-i-learned-on-my-writing-journey-1

One of the 13 lessons that I keep front of mind is “Writers Write.” Thinking about it, talking about it, is not the same as sitting down and doing it. 15 minutes a day? Set a word count goal? Number of pages a week? Get going.

Another of the 13 that I also stand by is “Be Brave.” It takes courage to put your creative work in someone else’s hands. What if they hate it? Having others read and provide feedback is a blessing. Be open. Consider. And then do what is best for your story.

Finally, enjoy! It is a wonderful profession, or pastime, or passion depending on where you are in life. Let your writing bring you joy!

10. Are you on social media and can your readers interact with you?

I love interacting with readers whether it’s on social media, via my newsletter, on a Zoom event, or in person. The other day I ran into one of my readers in the supermarket. There we stood, frozen vegetables warming, talking about the characters of one of my books.

I post on Instagram and my author Facebook page almost every day. Whenever an Instagram reviewer posts about one of my novels, I hop on and respond to every comment. My newsletter goes out every six weeks or so. And upcoming online and in person events are listed on my website’s events page. There are also book club discussion questions for each novel.

So, yes, please contact me. I’d love to chat.

To learn more about Karen E. Osborne, here’s where you can find Her: