As 2024 draws to a close, I realize how grateful I am for you, dear readers, doing what I love doing anyway. Life is at times challenging as we prepare for another surgery for my dear husband, but I have vowed to recognize those things that give me joy. It’s been a year of ups and […]
Maybe it’s my father’s death that made me think about why I write and what’s important to me in writing my books. With every new generation, the memories of history slip farther into the past and are easily forgotten. With my stories, I want to preserve some of that memory. I also want to highlight
Last weekend I had the pleasure of participating in the fifth Literary Hike in the beautiful Vorwerk Park in Wuppertal. Under cloudy but dry skies eight authors and their roughly twenty guests walked and enjoyed beautiful settings together. At various picturesque sites throughout the park authors presented stories and poems. Since the German translation of
A Great Reading and Upcoming Books Read More »
I’m the first to admit that I find the Middle Ages fascinating. But anyone who knows what life was really like in those days, also knows that we tend to romanticize a lot. The old castle ruins of Hanstein I still use as the header for my website were my inspiration to write the ESCAPE
Going Back in Time Read More »
Reading As a member of the Solinger Autorenrunde I participated in a wonderfully diverse reading organized by the Monheim Public Library. In the garden, framed by picturesque brick walls and flowering plants, we read and listened to amazing stories and poems. In-between we enjoyed refreshments and guitar and song music. I read the beginning of
After the lull I mentioned in my last blog post, I have found my new story. Well, as much as a pantser can know at the beginning of a manuscript. Two Failed Tries I’d been thinking about a couple of narratives for a while. The first had to do with my grandfather, Willi, who also
When You Know, You Know! Read More »
Sometimes after publishing a book, a certain inertia sets in, a kind of lull. Some authors don’t experience any pauses, others take months or even years until they return to writing. For me this ‘phase’ typically doesn’t last very long. Very soon, I’m antsy again and my brain searches for the next great story. After publishing
Well, I thought I’d work ahead with my newest manuscript and get it listed on my online platforms. I was still waiting for the editor to finish and sure enough, she didn’t like the title of the book. Yikes. So I hemmed and hawed whether to go against my editor’s comments—and my husband’s who also
Change is Good – Most of the Time Read More »
I look back on 2018 with utmost gratitude. A year ago, my husband and father suffered strokes within the span of three weeks. I spent months worrying about their recovery, watched tentative steps grow into wobbly walks. Neither man is fully recovered, yet they are moving, talking and exercising. My father just turned 90 and
A Happy New Year to All Read More »
New Literary Agent I’m very excited to share that I’m now represented by literary agent, Dr. Dorothee Schmidt. As you know I recently translated my award-winning novel, Surviving the Fatherland, into German and I’m hoping this true story about my parents will be available in the German language market. New Prohibition Novel I’m putting the