Interview With Author Vicki Ostenfeld

 

1.      What inspired you to write this book?  

While I have wanted to write a novel since I was about ten years old, when I won a writing competition at school, it has taken me a long time to realize that ambition. Previous attempts were abandoned, mainly because life always got in the way, but when I retired from teaching in August 2022, I decided that it was now or never, so I started writing seriously. 

In the last few years before I started writing this book, I began to think about the people from the community where I grew up and how their lives were just as interesting as the lives of many of the characters that I have read about in books. So why not use my personal experience of life in a small, isolated, Australian country town in the middle of the 20^th Century to realize my ambition to become a writer? Naturally, my characters are all figments of my imagination, but many of them are inspired by people I’ve known, or known of. I wanted to tell their stories in a respectful way that reveals that life is just as interesting and challenging in a small country town in Tasmania as it is in New York or London. Going by the positive feedback that I’ve had from others who grew up in the same place and time as I did, I believe that I have succeeded. 

2.      What exactly is it about and who is it written for? 

My book is about a young couple (Frank and Amy) who meet and fall in love in Cairns (QLD, Australia) in the later stages of WW2. They have very different ambitions in life, which are not compatible, and this obstacle, along with hostility towards Amy from Frank’s older brother (Henry), leads to their separation. Frank returns to his family’s farm in Tasmania and, on the rebound from Amy, finds himself pushed into marrying Imogen, a young woman of whom his family approves but whom Frank doesn’t love. The rest of the story, which spans 50 years, reflects the consequences of marrying for duty instead of love, and includes the themes of loss, fidelity and betrayal, loyalty, and ‘doing the right thing’. It also examines the effects that one generation’s choices can have on future generations. The rapidly shifting moral landscape of the second half of the 20^th Century provides an addition dimension to the story. 

Originally, my target audience was adult women, but, once again, going by the feedback that I’ve received, many adult men are also enjoying my book, so I suppose it is actually written for anyone, male or female, who enjoys a good story. 

3.      What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? 

First of all, I hope my readers will just enjoy a good yarn that they don’t have to have a literary education to understand. But I also hope that they will develop a wider understanding of what society was like in the place and time in which the novel is set and the limitations and expectations that were placed on women – and men.

While I would not call my novel ‘feminist’, I hope that the contrasts between Amy, Imogen and the other female characters will lead my readers to reflect on how much women’s roles in society have changed in the last 70 years. And, hopefully, my readers will feel some sympathy for the characters, male and female, and how their lives played out, mainly because of the expectations that society placed upon them.  

4.      How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? 

The title popped into my head one evening when my husband and I were discussing the different norms that applied in the second half of the 20^th Century, which I have tried to reveal in my novel. I remarked that it was ‘another time’ then and that’s what stuck – it seemed like the correct title for my book. 

The cover design is meant to reflect the tropics and Cairns, where Frank and Amy met, and WW2, when Frank and Amy met. The planes on the cover are Catalinas, which I chose because there were two Catalina Squadrons based in Cairns during WW2.   

5.      What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!? 

Just keep slogging away. If you have an idea for a story, write it down. If a publisher rejects your work, keep trying or self-publish. Publishers don’t always recognize a good story – remember that J.K.Rowling was rejected 12 times before the 13^th publisher accepted her first book in the Harry Potter series. 

6.      What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading?  

I admit that I was previously somewhat pessimistic about the future of literature with what I perceived as younger people’s lack of interest in reading novels and their lack of concentration caused by spending so much time on the social media. However, since my book was published, I have become aware of the many, many young people who are all over the social media promoting literature of all kinds to their friends and followers. The emerging backlash against the whole on-line, digital experience is also encouraging with so many young people seeking entertainment in the analogue world. I have faith in the future of literature.

The book publishing industry itself is being challenged by modern technology, the ease of self-publishing and publishers’ own attitudes to publishing new authors. I recently read that a large publishing firm had declared that it wasn’t going to publish any new authors or any new books unless they were sure that the book would be a best seller - in other words, they weren’t going to take any risks. If this continues, publishers might find themselves by-passed and obsolete in the future – they might not be willing to take risks in publishing new authors and books, but are they willing to risk their own demise caused by their own policies?   

7.      Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book?  

I believe that one of the reasons why I succeeded in this attempt at writing a novel is that I now have a master’s degree in English, applied linguistics and psychology and have taught literature for 17 years. Studying the work of other authors as closely as I did as a teacher of literature has given me a lot of insights into how it’s done, which I didn’t have before, and the self-discipline required to successfully complete a master’s degree was a useful attribute in writing a novel. Please don’t write me off as an intellectual snob, I don’t think that it is necessary to have a university degree to write a good book – there are numerous examples of great novels written by outstanding authors who didn’t/don’t have a formal education – I’m merely saying that, in my case, my education helped.    

As previously mentioned, I have drawn on my own personal experience growing up in a small country town as inspiration for many of the events and characters in my book.  

8.      How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? 

My writing style is straight-forward. I tell the story in a way that is easily understood and can be enjoyed by everyone. I chose a third person omniscient narrator so that I could reveal the thoughts and feelings of all of my characters where appropriate. It was especially important that the reader was aware of what the three main characters (Frank, Amy and Imogen) were thinking and feeling and how they were reacting to the other characters and events. There is a lot of dialogue in the book, where I have tried to portray the characters’ mode of speaking as authentically as possible – this is a useful tool which reflects both the sociolect and dialect of the characters.

If I were to compare my book to other books that I feel that mine is similar to, my first choices would be Colleen McCullough’s The Thorn Birds or Robert James Waller’s Bridges of Madison County – both of which, like my book, deal with love and difficult choices which don’t necessarily lead to happy endings for the characters. 

9.      What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? 

My biggest challenge was having confidence in my work/writing. I was convinced that my book wouldn’t appeal to anyone and that it was very ‘amateurish’. It was very reassuring when I eventually allowed a few people to read it and received positive feedback. I was also very insecure about sending it to publishers – no-one likes rejection. Although it was rejected by some publishers, it was also accepted and published, and that’s all that counts in the end.  

10.   If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? 

If you want to read a ripping, good yarn that will tear at your heart-strings, read my book. It’s a story that many people will enjoy and even relate to on some level. There’s also a possibility that you’ll learn something about Australia, Australian history and the challenges that faced women who wanted to be something other than ‘housewives’ in the middle of the last century.

A good read that touches on social, historical and emotional themes. 

About The Author: Vicki Ostenfeld was born in Tasmania, Australia and grew up in a small country town in the middle of the 20^th Century. She now lives in Denmark with her husband whom she met in Cairns, Queensland where she was working as a customs officer (border control). After moving to Denmark, Vicki attended Aarhus University where she obtained a Bachelor of English and a master’s degree. Vicki taught English at a Danish adult education high school for 17 years before retiring in 2022 when she began writing her first novel. Vicki has both Australian and Danish citizenship. Please see: Vicki Ostenfeld (ampbk.com) 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.9 million pageviews. With 4,900+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.