Guest Blog: Carley-Ann Osborn

Hi all,

Let me first introduce myself. My name is Carley-Ann Osborn: I am a Mum of three amazing children; a Learning Support Assistant for children with educational and behavioural needs, as well as an Author of contemporary romance novels; author/illustrator of children’s picture book and author/illustrator of young adult fantasy fiction.

Wow! That is becoming more and more like a mouthful of verbal nonsense which basically means – ‘I keep myself busy.’

I will admit, I have found it tricky trying to think about what to write about in this blog, coming out and talking about myself positively doesn’t come naturally, a trait I feel a lot of authors probably relate to: the so-called “imposter syndrome.” This idea that people want to hear about me and the ‘silly stories’ I choose to write, and value my opinion and advice is most definitely a trigger for this. The more I speak to other authors however, the more I realise I am not alone, and within this community we are all learning to see ourselves in a more positive light.

So, I thought I would write about what I am very passionate about when it comes to writing: my motivation; inspiration and common themes behind it all, because despite my diverse genres and age range, there is a common trope that unites them all, which stems from the reason I got into writing in the first place.

As many people who know me well know, I am also an avid reader, I love being immersed in a story, and my favourite books are the ones where I truly believe I am there with the character, sharing in their turbulences. I don’t like clichés unless they have a purpose; I don’t like being about to predict a story within the first couple of chapters, and I want the characters to believable and relatable to me, as a reader. While I have read some pretty fantastic books over the years, there was a time where I got myself into a reading rut. I was getting the, ‘because you read this, you might like this,’ from my eBook, which kept showing me book after book that fell exactly into this category, which as you can imagine, I found very frustrating. This prompted me to write my first book, - What We Can Be, - that aimed to challenge the gender norms I was so used to reading.

One of the most prominent types of feedback I got from that first book, was how much my readers could relate to the character of ‘Amz.’ I didn’t create her to be perfect, nor did she make good choices; she wasn’t the ‘damsel in distress,’ but she certainly wasn’t the hero either. She was a woman who struggled with her own mental well-being and had to learn to find balance within her own life in order to accept the chaos of the world around her, which included the love the main male character, Nat, was trying to force it upon her. Nat in himself was also no hero, he had all good intentions but for want of a better word – was clueless about what it was that Amz really needed.

My children’s picture books focus on the theme of neurodiversity, relating to my work with SEN children within a mainstream school. My aim when writing these stories was to create characters that these children could see themselves in; helping them understand their own selves and thought processes. When illustrating the pictures, I wanted the images to be simple, and attractive enough that they would appeal to young readers without detracting them from the meaning of the story. Once again, the feedback I am getting from parents, teachers and the children themselves, tell me they are doing just that. A teacher, who bought the book from her class, even added that she has used the book to help those children with a ‘neurotypical’ mindset understand their classmates a little better. For me, there is no better compliment than that!

Last, but not least, my young adult fantasy book, Dragos and Mages. This is a book that was actually co-written with my – now – 14 year old son, N.Palaj, which is just part one of a series. We worked really hard to make Sarah, the main female lead, as realistically as a modern teenager as we could, while also addressing the underlying theme of the book as a girl stuck in the middle of race and bigotry in a world consumed by prejudice.

I hope these character arcs mean my readers can see themselves within them, a theme which has become a part of all my works. When I am actively writing now, I do question everything: ‘would a real person actually do this?’ ‘Why would they do this?’ ‘What is it about their past, or their core personality which would cause them to react in this way?’ I don’t want to write books that are predictable, or stories that are completely unrealistic, and that – I believe – starts with the characters.

So, where do I go from here?

I am now in the midst of several projects, spanning all my genres. I have another contemporary romance novel currently finished and has grabbed the attention of not only an agent, but also a publisher. While nothing is set in stone yet, if all goes well, I am hoping this one will be in publication soon. I also recently made the big decision to unpublish my first novel. While I love the story and characters, I was very much a newbie when I wrote it, and after the journey I have been on an author, with everything I know now in comparison, I know I can do the story, and more importantly the characters of Amz and Nat, more justice. So, I wanted to take the time to re-write it, giving it a complete ‘Carley-Ann Osborn’ make-over. I am hoping to have this finished by August to start its next journey to re-publication.

My son is currently writing part two of Dragos and Mages, which is turning out to be tricky to stay on top of as he has started his GCSE journey this year, therefore remains a very much ‘work in progress.’

In addition, I have been working on concept drawings for my next children’s picture book, sneak peek alert, it will be about a Capybara!

To that end, I will finish up my blog with the advice I have given countless times before to all the aspiring authors who have approached me over the years. If you have an idea and a passion for storytelling, it all starts with the very first word. You never know the adventure it will take you on until you begin. The first draft will never be perfect, and you are kidding yourself to think it will be, but it is the start of a process that is unique to only you.

Thank you for reading.

Carley-Ann Osborn – contemporary romance novels

                  What We Can Be (unpublished, TBA)

                  Pretend With Me

C.Osborn – young children’s picture books and young adult fantasy fiction.

                  Dragos and Mages – Battle Between the Mountains

The Cute Newt

                  Quinn the Penguin