Inspiration as a Writer by Patricia M. Osborne

9 minutes ago

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This week I am delighted to welcome back to the blog my friend and fellow author, Patricia M. Osborne who considers where authors get their inspiration from. She explains this with particular reference to her new novel, Gymslip Bride. Thank you for your time today, Patricia.

Thank you, Val, for inviting me over to chat about my inspiration on your blog. As you know, for writers inspiration comes from everywhere, everything, and anything. For me, it could be a one-word prompt, something someone says, or a sudden memory popping into my head, a photograph or an artist’s picture. Standing at the ocean’s edge is always a big hit, inhaling the sea’s salt while soaking up those healing vibes. For my poetry, nature plays a big part; in particular, walks around my local lake listening and watching for wild life. I like pairing my findings with myths, legends and folklore.

For my latest novel, Gymslip Bride, inspiration came from a completely different place – my late parents’ story. Why? They had a multicultural marriage that wasn’t always easy. I started that story back in 2013, but it was soon abandoned and stored in my computer archives as it was too painful to write.

However, over recent years I had this yearning to embrace my roots, and it dawned on me that my multicultural romance didn’t have to be a true narrative. I was a storyteller, so why not use my mum and dad’s story as inspiration and give my hero and heroine their own tale which was a complete work of fiction? And that’s what I did.

It was wonderful to research postwar Liverpool while using some real places, but also inventing my own. My story: Two Cultures. One Defiant Love. Gymslip Bride was born.

Why Gymslip Bride? It was a nickname my mum earned from my dad’s friends, because she was only seventeen when they first met and five years younger than him. By giving Talia this nickname, and with Gymslip Bride as my title, I imagined Mum was standing over me when I wrote it. I also named Talia’s place of work, Lila’s, after my mum. Again, every time I typed Lila’s into the PC, it felt as if Mum was with me. Daft, I know, but it worked for me.

Gymslip Bride is very special to me, as I wrote it for my mum and dad. It’s a postwar saga romance set in Liverpool. I think my Mum and Dad would approve and I'm now in the process of writing the sequel to Gymslip Bride: The Mersey Bride.

The Blurb

Liverpool September 1948

Turmoil threatens when a Jewish girl falls in love with an Irish Catholic

When seventeen-year-old Talia Cohen discovers the guy she fancies is not only her best friend’s brother, but a twenty-two-year-old Irish Catholic, the magnetism is too strong to deter her, despite the havoc it will cause both families.

Pledged to a boy of her own faith, she stands up to her parents and fights for the right to choose her own husband, of any age and any religion. But can she also go up against a widowed mother who insists her only son weds a nice Irish girl?

With love on one side and family loyalty on the other, how much is Talia willing to risk for the man of her dreams?

Perfect for fans of heartfelt, rebellious post-war romance.

Gymslip Bride is available to order online at Amazon in paperback or kindle format (including Kindle+) or the paperback can be ordered from any good bookstore, or requested from libraries.

The Author

Patricia M Osborne is married with three grown-up children and seven grandchildren. She was born in Liverpool but now lives in West Sussex. In 2019 she graduated with an MA in Creative Writing. She is a published novelist, which includes two family drama trilogies, short fiction writer, and poet with eight poetry pamphlets published by The Hedgehog Poetry Press. She’s had numerous poems and short stories published in various literary magazines and anthologies.

Patricia's debut poetry pamphlet, Taxus Baccata, was nominated for the Michael Marks Pamphlet Award and her poem ‘Sandcastles Fall’ was nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

Patricia has a successful blog at Whitewingsbooks.com featuring other writers. When she isn’t working on her own writing, she enjoys sharing her knowledge, acting as a mentor to fellow writers.