By lacing her stories with adversity that is often ignored by authors, Osmund’s ‘Daughters’ boasts a unique and compelling narrative where overcoming the ambiguity of a questionable ethnicity is more difficult than one could ever imagine. Making for such a unique read, the book is expected to resonate with a culturally diverse group of readers around the world.

Chicago, IL -- (SBWire) -- 02/28/2013 --With millions of novels on the market, many topics of adversity make regular appearances the world over. However, the writing of Chicago's Florence Osmund seeks to tackle conflict and troubles that are often left untouched. This ethos plays out stronger than ever in ‘Daughters,’ the second volume in Osmund’s powerful and increasingly-popular literary duology.

Synopsis:

Imagine growing up thinking you are white and then finding out your real father is not.

It is the year 1949, and twenty-four-year-old Marie Marchetti has just discovered the identity of her multiracial father, Jonathan Brooks, the father she never knew. Marie grew up in Chicago, the only child of a single mother, having had very little contact with people of other races, making her current situation more than just a little daunting.

Marie hopes the invitation from Jonathan to spend two weeks with her newfound family over Thanksgiving will help uncover vital truths about herself that her now deceased mother had never shared with her. But the visit has potential for being disastrous, since Jonathan had only recently acknowledged Marie?s existence to his wife of thirty-one years and their three grown sons.

Discovering her father also means discovering her own ethnicity. Despite Marie?s olive skin, nut brown eyes, and dark wavy hair, she has easily and unknowingly passed for white her entire life. Her strong need to understand who she really is and where she belongs drives her to form an intimate connection with her new family, transcend the prejudices of friends and strangers, and seek peace and truth in her life.

Through her character, Marie, Osmund demonstrates the challenge of letting go of old conventions to develop new ones for a healthy life. She brings the reality of 1940s ethnic tension and women’s struggles in the U.S. to the forefront, some of which still exist today.

“Understanding what women experienced during this time period, especially women with ambiguous ethnic identity, is helpful to understanding today’s cultural prejudices," says Osmund. "I think what's unique about my writing is I create memorable characters who are faced with interesting and unusual adversity that few authors are willing to tackle."

"I tend to write about conflict that isn’t easily resolved," she continues. "Happy endings are too common; readers deserve something different from the norm.”

The book comes following the duology's hugely-successful first volume, ‘The Coach House,’ which achieved a string of rave reviews.

“The Coach House by Florence Osmund is a beautifully written story of the immediate years following WWII. This book is a love story, a chapter in our history, a picture of divergent cultures, and a strong female character's journal,” says Terry Palardy.

Mary Crocco was equally as impressed, commenting “The Coach House is a superbly written book, in my opinion. It will leave the reader thinking about relationships, adversity, independence and growth, and prejudices. It’s always nice to finish a good book with something to think about.”

‘Daughters,’ published by CreateSpace, is available now: http://amzn.to/YxLtHa (ISBN 1-4782-6833-6)

About the Author: Florence Osmund
Florence Osmund grew up in a Victorian home in Illinois, complete with a coach house, the same house she used as inspiration for her first two novels. She earned her master's from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and has obtained more than three decades of experience in corporate America. Osmund currently resides in Chicago where she is working on her third novel.