Better Know An Author – Florence Rosselle

Our weekly spotlight series on authors from around the world. This week we sat down with Florence Rosselle!

Please give a brief introduction, including your name and where you are based

I was born in Lancashire, England, on 5th August 1959, and write as Florence Rosselle. I have lived in several interesting places, including Scotland, Cornwall, Crete and Italy, and now live in the Lake District. A beautiful part of the United Kingdom. I have been married to Colin for 33 years, and we have two grown-up children.

What book or books have you published or are working on at the moment?

I have published three novels. My first, Aphrodite takes a Holiday, published by Austin Macaulay, was inspired by my Greek neighbour. It tells the story of two women from different backgrounds and their friendship. My aim with the story was to highlight that despite different cultures and languages. Deep personal bonds can grow and flourish. There are a couple of heavy story lines but a lot of humour in this book, and I enjoyed letting my imagination run riot.

Smoke and Shadow was my second published novel, originally under the title The Abbazia. It is an adventure/thriller set in Crete and Italy and tells the story of a woman with a past whose demons eventually catch up with her, plunging her into an unwanted adventure with a group of friends that ends in murder and mayhem. I enjoyed researching this book and learned a lot in the process. I wrote Smoke and Shadow before Aphrodite Takes a Holiday, but I became very bogged down in research. It was my first attempt at writing a novel, and I think that deep down, I was afraid of committing my thoughts to paper and prevaricated too long. Once I started, I couldn’t stop until I had finished!

The Yellow Canary is my third published novel. It’s a psychological thriller set in Crete and Italy about a retired internationally renowned Clinical Psychologist. Recently widowed, Rosie is drawn into a murder investigation when her best friend, Judith, disappears on the island of Crete. Rosie’s tenacious character slowly emerges as she joins forces with the local police inspector Kostas Manolakis as they investigate a series of deaths. It’s my favourite of my three novels and has a great baddie.

I’m working on a few projects at the moment. My fourth novel, Gate 13, is at the second draft stage and still needs work. The book set in England, Turkey and Crete is another psychological thriller with a conspiracy theory/ end of the world twist. I would have finished it ages ago, but it began with a Pandemic. When the Pandemic hit, I almost binned it. But, having invested so much time in it, I went back and rewrote a lot of it. Now, I’m happy with the credible storyline and am working on publication date of early December.

I have two other ongoing projects. I started a children’s book, Hector, The Cat Who Fell from The Sky. I have a first draft, but I’m not happy with it. I need a bit more time to mull it over before going back to it. It’s about a kitten left outside our house in Crete nine years ago. He is an interesting cat. But, a lot of people write about cats. So, I might write this one for myself.

I also started a semi-autobiography about my childhood. It isn’t easy writing. I grew up in a strict catholic working-class environment with a violent, alcoholic father. It was traumatic even starting to write about it. I put it away after a couple of chapters after deciding I wasnt ready to delve into my psyche just yet.

What drives you to write?

I have always wanted to write but worked in a human resources environment where thinking had to be structured and very much within parameters. My speciality was employment law and contracts. It requires a different mindset. But, when not working, my overactive imagination was always in overdrive. Away from work, I people watched and didn’t realise until I started writing that the random thoughts about who the people were and what they were doing were potential storylines. Now, my thoughts are recorded and, at some point, appear in a story. I think I’m motivated to write because I don’t want to believe I am a crazy woman. I would rather be considered artistic.

Where can folks find you online and on social media?

I have a good Instagram following at @florencerosselle or linktr.ee/florencerosselle, which will take you to each of my novels and Author Central on Amazon and my Facebook profile.

What is one piece of advice you would give to another author out there who might be struggling?

My one piece of advice to other authors who may be struggling would be to get out and have some adventures. I only started writing when I had space in my head to do it. When I was focused on reading and writing structured legal contracts and documents, I couldn’t think creatively. Until, I met a remarkable Danish lady with who I became friends when we had a house in Crete. I told her about the stories in my head and that I wanted to write. She asked, “Then why don’t you?” That made me think. The next time we met, she asked if I had started writing, and I said I was thinking about it. She smiled and said, “You are still thinking with the left side of your brain. Think with the right side. Tap into your creativity.” I wasn’t sure how to do this until the first hot summer I spent in Greece. Unable to do anything but lounge on the beach because of the heat, I became horrendously bored. Gazing at the nothingness of the blue sea and blue sky day after day, I people watched, and the stories came flooding in. I started taking a notebook to relive the boredom and soon found I could write a chapter a day. I appreciate not everyone can do this. But the same effect could be achieved sitting quietly in the garden and forgetting about the “To-do list.”

What are some of your five-year goals with writing?

I want some more adventures and would like to visit Norway and Iceland. Off the beaten track if possible. I have a couple of story ideas, both Psychological thrillers, that I would like to think about in the right environment. I would, like most writers, love to get an agent and publishing contract and continually work to achieve that goal. I will finish Gate 13 and self publish it in December of this year in any event. I will keep working on my social media profile and grow my audience.

Final Thoughts?

Final thoughts – I hope I have said enough, but not too much! And would like to thank Daniel for the opportunity of a feature in Better Know an Author. It is much appreciated.

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