Just like a woman’s work is never done, being an author is a lifestyle. While I maintain a regular writing schedule made easy by my 30-second commute to my office, I constantly brainstorm about plot points, how to get my guy or girl out of the sticky situation s/he is in, and new story ideas. I think about it in the shower, while driving and walking the dog. So you could say I’m a workaholic. Except it doesn’t feel like work. I really enjoy it. Below are the next few manuscripts I’m currently working on.
German Translation of “A Lightness in My Soul: Inspired by a True Story”
While I was working on the evacuation novel, my friend met an elderly man in a car repair shop. It turned out that the man was 90 years old and had participated in the children’s evacuation program as a youth. His story was so horrific and so moving that I decided to write a novella – inspired by a true story – about his ordeal.
The English version has been published. My next project is the translation of this story into German.
Projects 2021/2022
I always have way more ideas than time. For 2021 I’m already planning several new projects.
German Project: Solingen remembers
While I was completing A Lightness in My Soul, pondering about the 90-year old man who’d never spoken of his terrible ordeal, I thought about the many stories that simply die when the elderly person passes. That’s why I decided to create a collection of stories about the war and post-war years here in my hometown. So my new project is titled: Solingen remembers. I plan to interview seniors, record and write their stories as a way to hold on to some of the incredible occurrences that would otherwise be lost.
Surviving the Gulag (Working Title)
Based on the story of my grandfather, Wilhelm Kronen
Courland, May 8, 1945: Five years have passed since Willi Kronen left his family in Germany. Five years he fought for the German Army, the last eight months wedged in by the Russian Red Army in the East and the East Sea in the West. He knows the war is lost and it is just a matter of time before Germany must capitulate.
Then he hears the fateful words across the wire. Germany is defeated. Hand your weapons to the Red Army.
At last he can go home to his wife, son and daughter. But warning bells sound in Willi’s gut, a skill which has helped him survive so far. In horror he watches as Russian soldiers are shooting surrendering German soldiers, play Russian roulette or take them prisoner. On a whim Willi and his men decide to make a run for it. They head for Libau, a port city on the west coast of the East Sea. There they hope to catch a boat home.
It takes them three days to reach the port, always hiding, always dodging spying eyes. They’re in luck. A German boat is about to leave. But then disaster strikes. The Red Army reaches them just as Willi’s men are embarking. Willi hesitates and with that makes the biggest mistake of his life. He is taken prisoner and soon finds himself heading east, away from everything he knows, away from freedom.
More to come…