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(Deutsch) Kein theologisches Buch
“Schlange des Bösen” (=Serpent of Malice) , Part 1: Die Studentin’ was published just in time for the Leipzig Book Fair. The evening before the fair, my publisher, Torston Low , organised a reading in Delitzsch, a pretty suburb of Leipzig. There, in a whisky bar ‘No. 2 – Altstadtkneipe’, we gave a very first reading for an interested audience. It went very well. De ‘Altstadtkneipe’ is a delightfully cosy old building with the largest stock of whisky I’ve ever seen. I love good whisky. But when you have a reading to give, it’s best to stay sober at first. Torsten and I took it in turns to read. And the audience seemed quite taken with it. I like listening to Torsten. His readings are full of life and fun. If you’re ever at an event where he’s reading, go listen. It’s well worth it. And, of course, also please…
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The Paracryptozoological Annual Conference
Last weekend saw me busy at an extraordinary event. The Annual Paracryptozoological Conference took place at the “Bakerstreet“ in Saarbrücken. I was a speaker there. If you don’t know right away what is hidden behind the word paracryptozoology, don’t be embarrassed: It is a field of research that basically does not exist. Paracryptozoology deals with “creatures that are so extinct that they probably never lived”. To sum it up: the little creatures we are researching have sprung from our eccentric brains. And what an impressive number of eccentric brains they were! I am proud of us. A glance at the programme reveals the infinitely important and sometimes very dangerous creatures we deal with. I, for example, or rather my scientific alter ego, Dr. Rosa-Eleonore Meyer-Hübschlieb, am concerned with the Diantus Glandularis Sugens = the carnation sucker, a worm-like parasite with a carnation head, which in its most dangerous form finds…
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Once again I am straying from my work to that of a friend
I like Christian Handel’s books. They mix suspense and emotion in a skilful way. So you have heroines and heroes you can like, because you know what they think and feel. They are so much more than mere stock figures: human beings with a heart and a brain, So when he asked me to take part in his cover flash mob action, I gladly joined the crew. THE NIGHT OF THE QUEENS – Christian Handel. Alix loves her life as it is: at her father’s castle, with her little brothers and Aunt Camille, but the king’s letter leaves her no choice. All the unmarried noble young women are summoned to the ruler’s seat. King Gideon wants to choose one of them as the future queen. Alix is not worried about actually catching King Gideon’s eye as a potential bride. Her family is too insignificant. But her stay at the royal…
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Fantasy – Stealing from History by Jacey Bedford
I was never very good at history in school. Maybe it was the dry way it was delivered, or maybe I simply wasn’t ready for it. We never seemed to take history as a whole. We always ended up studying specific periods which were not connected to the period immediately before or after. So school history was a series of snapshots, not a continuous stream. Louis XI of France followed by the industrial revolution is a big disconnect. My interest in history came long after school. It started with local history. The village where I live is not really old. There’s a farm with a door lintel dated 1642, but most of the houses, and the mill that provided work, date from around 1800. The mill had a water wheel which was fed from a mill pond, which in turn was topped up by an upstream pond which was (still…
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Reading in Berlin
This weekend I’ll be in Berlin. I have a reading there on Friday evening at Kulturbremse, Jagowstr. 29 in Berlin Moabit. I’m sharing the reading with Bernhard Stäber. The organiser has called it the “Welten” (=Worlds) reading, because our books each have the word “Welten” in the title. Ju Honisch „Weltendiebe“ In the cellar of an old villa in Munich there is an interdimensional weak spot. Every few decades, nefarious world-jumpers seek to open it from the outside to steal into our world. The last opening happened in 1952, and just now it has been opened again. Anne’s grandmother is horrified when she finds out that her granddaughter works in the very house where she experienced unbelievably terrible things back then. She remembers, but won’t speak. So Anne has no idea how dangerous the men are who suddenly appear in her life. Only when her sister Ev disappears and ominous…
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Dungeons and Readings
Last year, the Meissen Literature Festival had to be cancelled due to flooding. East Germany and parts of Eastern Bavaria were submerged in rather too much water in places where water was not at all welcome. This year the festival will (hopefully!) be held again. And I’ll be reading there again. I last read in Meissen four years ago, but I remember how pretty and nice everything was. I am sure it still is. This time it is even more thrilling, because this time, Feder & Schwert Publishing has been granted a special event, the “Fantasy Night of Feder & Schwert”: Oliver Plaschka, Oliver Hoffmann, Oliver Graute and I read from our novels. – And even though my name is not Oliver, I shall be there. The Fantasy Night will be held on Friday, 06 June 2014. The entire festival runs from Thursday to Monday. I am particularly thrilled with…
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News
Last weekend I was invited to read in Ilmenau at the local Technical University. Phantopia organised this. They are a quite wonderful club that invites authors regularly and spoils them rotten. It was my second reading there. And again it was thoroughly enjoyable. I went home happy, fed and with some lovely gifts and I hope to be able to read there again someday. Simply wonderful hosts! Fresh out of the – well, not press but pixel machine – is the e-book “Exotische Welten” (Exotic Worlds) published by O’Connellpress. It’s a wonderful collection of very different stories that fit this topic, from SF to fantasy. My story takes the reader into late 19th century London and from there into a world that is a poem in every sense of the word. Here you can order the e-book directly . It is, of course, in German. And in June we expect…
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… and the winner is … me …
And what was it like? It was great. Exhausting, but quite overwhelming. Last week, I went to Leipzig Book Fair. I only tend to go to big fairs, when I have something to do there. Just strolling from booth to booth would be a little too tedious for me. But this year, I really could not complain. Four readings. A Meet & Greet with literary bloggers at the Heyne (Random House) stand. An interview with a nice blogger couple. And several visits to my agent, who this time had his own booth. The big news, however, is: I won the SERAPH – Best Book 2014 ! Together with Oliver Plaschka , who was also was nominated, I sat in the audience and waited for the decision. I really did not believe I would win the award. Accordingly, I was pretty speechless when “Schwingen aus Stein” (Wings of Stone) was announced…
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Steampunk reading in Frankfurt
Yesterday, there was a Steampunk reading on at the FAB (Frankfurt Art Bar http://www.frankfurtartbar.de ) in Frankfurt. The event was great fun. The following authors read from their Steampunk ( or 19th century gothic novel) books: – Oliver Plaschka: Der Kristallpalast (The Crystal Palace) – Judith & Christian Vogt: Die zerbrochene Puppe (The broken doll) – And I: Schwingen aus Stein (Wings of Stone) The FAB is a wonderful culture and music pub in Frankfurt and Janice, the landlady, had kindly let us loose among her clientele. There were many steampunk friends, some in Steampunk costume. The Feder&Schwert Publishing had sent a donation of books for us to hand to the winners of the costuming competition and these beautiful Steampunk novels now all have found a good steampunky home. We enjoyed the evening immensely and so, I think, did the audience. A similar event featuring the same authors is scheduled…