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Moterwriter.com caught up with author Gordon Osmond and got him to talk a little about his latest novel The Page. This is what transpired in the tête-à-tête with the author.

Moterwriter: It has been almost a year and a half since we last talked after the release of your book, ‘Turner’s Point’. What’s new in your life?

Gordon Osmond: Nothing. I’m refining my enjoyment of the old: writing, blogging, eating, drinking and teaching.

MW: Okay, now let’s move forward to the new book, ‘The Page’. What’s it about?

GO: The book’s theme, which I always regard as central, is revenge, education, atonement, and redemption. The central locale of the novel is Washington, D.C., where I was born and spent my pre-college days.

MW: What’s Cameron Lovett like? Also, is there a character in any one of your books who shares their characteristics with you?

GO: Cam Lovett, the central character in The Page, embodies the best and worst attributes of youth. I hope his story demonstrates how vulnerable young people are to new ideas and strong, passionate emotions. How the young deal with these riptides determines how happy they will be as adults.

All my characters share characteristics with me, but I’d rather not say which they are.

MW: Do you feel that the setting of a story is as important as the story itself?

GO: Generally, yes, but not always. Sometimes, the theme of a story is so potent that it can be expressed in any setting. Usually, however, the setting provides an indispensable context for the story.

MW: How do you keep coming up with new storyline for books? What keeps you going?

GO: Captivating story lines, replete with theme, conflict and intensity, are hard to come by and do not happen everyday. But it’s worth the wait. If you write before these elements coalesce, you and your readers will regret it.

MW: Favorite character/s from the ‘The Page’?

GO: My favorite characters in The Page are the women: Candy, Cam’s mom, who deals with wealth and poverty with equal and unwavering character; Luana, Cam’s lover, who, along with Candy, re-set Cam’s moral compass; and Mrs. Anson, a minor, one-scene character, whose instinctual intelligence provides a turning point in a scenario firmly headed for disaster.

MW: What is it about the average middle-class families of America that seem to attract you to base your stories around them?

GO: Because I came from one. I think I understand their satisfactions, inspirations, and frustrations.

MW: All your fictional work so far have had social and political undertones to it. Do you think you’ll ever attempt a full on guilty pleasure fantasy book?

GO: I hope not. There’s more than enough of that around. I would hope that my work has social, political, and philosophical undertones. I’d even settle for an overtone or two. But I do believe that an author has a responsibility to entertain as well as enlighten. Some of my works focus more on the former, and I’m happy about that.

MW: Are you active on social media platforms? What do you make of it?

GO:  Yes. These days an author has to be. As an author, I post on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. As a political commentator, I contribute to one liberal site and to one conservative one. Fair and balanced, that’s me.

MW: Would you say every story is tough to write or is it the genre that makes it tough?

GO: The pleasure of writing well far outweighs the agony of doing it poorly. I think it’s all genre neutral.

MW: How much research do you usually put into your writing? For this book especially?

GO: Thanks to today’s search engines, there’s no excuse for not adequately researching your material. Of course, some works require more research than others. In the case of The Page, I did extensive online research about the EPA, SUPERFUND, and other collateral issues. I was blessed in having friends, one of whom was in fact a Congressional Page in his angel infancy, and another who was intimately involved in the activities of the United States Senate.

MW: A question you wish people would stop asking writers?

GO: It’s not the questions I object to. In fact, I welcome and treasure them, as indications that the questioners care about me and my work. It’s the exhortations, e.g., KEEP WRITING, that get to me. Anyone who believes that writers need encouragement to write is not worthy of attention.

MW: If you chance upon someone reading one your books out in a public space. Would you go up to them, introduce yourself to get a ‘live’ feedback?

GO:  I’d introduce myself for sure, just to celebrate the bizarre coincidence of the occasion. I’m not sure I’d press my luck with a request for feedback.

MW: A compliment for your writing that has stayed with you?

GO: I can’t really choose among them. Maybe if there were more, it would be easier.

MW: What’s the next book and when does it come out?

GO: My next book is non-fiction work based on sports. It should be “out” during the summer of 2016. After that, I have an anthology of three of my most successful stage plays.

MW: And lastly, thank you for parting with your valuable time Gordon Osmond and all the very best for your book.

GO: Thank YOU, for asking these provocative questions. Any author who denies the pleasure of being asked these kinds of questions probably denies masturbating as a teenager.

Watch the book trailer of The Page –

 www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO6q9Wcdyhk&feature=youtu.be

Buy From - http://www.wordzworthpublishing.com/books/authorbooks.aspx?ISBN=9781783240364