A novel idea for her retirement years
Trending
CANFIELD -- Many people have dreams they hope will somehow come to fruition in their lifetime. Sometimes those dreams are fulfilled later in life, which is something author Rosemary Kubli knows all about.
Kubli is a 1972 graduate of Ursuline High School and received a bachelor's degree from Ursuline College in Pepper Pike.
After marrying Tim, she worked in downtown Youngstown at Strouss Department store as a personnel employment manager.
She became a stay-at-home mom raising two sons, and then in 1999 started working in the Small Business Loan Department for Huntington Bank, where she stayed for 21 years.
She said she got serious about writing after she retired in 2020.
"In grade school I was always writing stories. Reading wasn't enough, I wanted to create my own characters," Kubli said.
In retirement, she said she could finally concentrate on what she really wanted to do her entire life.
While she had done technical writing for her jobs, her love for creative writing was put on hold.
That passion was realized in retirement when she wrote her first book, "Gullible," followed by a second, "Vengeful."
The main character in both books is Siena Ricci. In "Gullible," Ricci is a specialist in antiques and objects of art.
She swindles her employees' wealthy clients out of their valuable possessions and while pulling off her most dangerous schemes, begins to question whether she's still in control of the con, or if she's become the gullible victim.
In her second book, "Vengeful," Ricci meets a man she conned years ago who recognizes her. She works to keep one step ahead of him as he carries out his plan of vengeance.
Kubli is working on a third book, "Reckless," which continues the story of her established characters from the first two books.
When an author wants to get a book published, he or she must first find a literary agent who presents the author to a particular publishing house. Kubli was rejected by all 39 literary agents she approached.
She decided to go with a smaller publishing house that an author can approach directly -- Wild Rose Press.
Kubli's editor lives in Michigan and works for Wild Rose Press in upstate New York, which was started by two women who wanted to start a publishing house to help struggling authors like her who were turned away by larger and more well-known publishing companies.
While Kubli's books are available at several online retailers, she said the best way to market her books is by word of mouth. Kubli introduces her books to readers by speaking at Rotary clubs, church groups, garden clubs and book clubs and does not charge a speaker's fee.
Kubli and her husband travel a great deal and while on trips, she promotes her books. As a result, she has readers in Scotland, Australia, Canada and France.
"People think authors make a lot of money for their books, but that's not at all true. The royalty fees are minimal. I do it because I love to write. If I can give someone who likes to read some entertainment, that's enough for me. There is no money to be made in this. I do it for the love of writing."
Her books are available online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Target, Walmart, Google Books, iTunes, Books-A-Million and ThriftBooks.