Set against the Harlem Renaissance, True Grace by Karen E. Osborne follows Grace Herbert as she fights systemic racism and misogyny to keep her family together. Author Karen E. Osborne talks to Book Glow about the novel.

Describe the book in one sentence.

A powerful story about love, courage, sacrifice, resilience, and hope, True Grace, set in 1924 during the Harlem Renaissance, chronicles the journey of an immigrant, mixed-raced woman from Congo, England, and Jamaica, fighting for her family’s survival.

What led you to write it?

The inciting incident in the book was a defining moment in my grandmother’s extraordinary life, one that reverberated through generations, touching my life in profound ways. While fiction, it is based on actual events. The opening line is “The first time my husband died, I felt fear, shame, and guilt. The second time he died…”

Which authors or books most influenced your voice and why?

For years, as I wrote other novels, I tried to figure out how to write my grandmother’s story. Then I read Four Winds by Kristin Hannah, and I had my answer. Set in a different time, and with a very different story, both novels highlight true events, and both protagonists face extraordinary danger but persevere for the love of family.

How do you organize your writing day—do you have rituals or routines?

Not really. My characters speak to me. Have entire conversations with each other as well. If they are talking, I am writing. I enjoy a very rich life—family, friends, volunteering in the community, giving workshops, and serving as an elder in my church. What Are Your Reading? What Are You Writing? is a video podcast I host weekly. Therefore, I don’t have writing days, but I write every day.

What does your research process look like (for historical settings, technical details, etc.)?

Each novel is different. For True Grace, I’m fortunate to own 300 pages of handwritten letters from my grandmother, five biographies written about her father, and clear memories of conversations with her before she died.

My husband and I also travelled to most of the countries and places in the novel. While writing, I pause. Did they have shopping carts in 1924? What did a wealthy woman’s home in Scarsdale look like? Where were the maid’s quarters? Describing police stations in Harlem. How about a bank? When did the elevated trains come to be in New York? I’d hop online, find answers and photos and get back to writing.

Which character in your book was the most fun (or challenging) to write, and what made them so?

I wanted Grace to have a man in her life who loved her. Unconditionally. The way I’m loved. I created Jonathan. One reader sent me a note. “I’m looking for my Jonathan.”

What themes or questions are you most interested in exploring through your work?

I cover many depending on the novel. But the common thread in all five is strong, smart, everyday women who must overcome extraordinary circumstances.

I focus on what it means to be “family.” Forgiveness. Resilience. I lift social issues like foster care, adoption, sexual assault, recovery, addiction, homelessness. But not every issue is in every book.

Is there any one thing that especially frustrates you about the writing process?

Those final edits. I love re-writing. That’s not a problem. Beta readers make suggestions, and I dive in. I re-read and discover I’d made an error in the plot. A character insists on going in a different direction than I planned. (They are quite pushy.) I’m missing a light moment to ease the unrelenting tension. But those final nitpicks– Big Sigh.

What’s the toughest hurdle you’ve faced during your writing career, and how did you overcome it?

Oh boy. When I started, it was dealing with rejection. Sending out queries and not hearing from anyone or receiving a polite “No thank you.”

My son, who is a published literary short story writer, encouraged me. “It’s a good book. Set a goal of 100 rejections and don’t quit until you reach it. And then push on from there.” It didn’t take that many to get a yes. It’s great having another author in the family. We encourage and learn from each other.

Any advice for novice writers?

I wrote an article with “13 Lessons I Learned.” One that has served me well is “Writers write.” You must do it every day, even if it’s only for 15 minutes. You can read the entire (and short) article here.

What do you hope readers take away from your book?

Empathy. Hope. Inspiration. And a desire to read my other novels.

What’s next?

Since True Grace came out in September 2023, my fifth novel dropped in March 2025—Justice for Emerson. A dual-timeline mystery. ”Justice for Emerson 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.”

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