Katharina Gerlach's Blog, page 16

Römisches Schlachtfeld

Vielleicht wisst ihr ja schon, wie sehr ich mich für ein römisches Schlachtfeld interessiere, das bei uns in der Nähe entdeckt wurde. Da ich nächsten Monat Besuch bekomme, habe ich nach einer Möglichkeit gesucht, eine Führung zu buchen. Dabei bin ich auf dieses Video gestoßen:

Es wurde komplett von Kindern entwickelt und umgesetzt. Ich bin schwer beeindruckt.

I’m blaming the weather…

Up to this weekend, the weather has been much to my liking; not too warm, not too cold, not too dry and not too wet. However, this Pentecost weekend is growing hotter and dryer by the minute. I’m really happy that we insulated our house or I’d have dried out by now.

With the summer came an avalanche of work. Ever since I opened my kickstarter (btw, it’s still running a few more days), I started connecting with people I never would have thought of. Even if the campaign doesn’t fund, it looks as if my dream-project will still come true. We’ll see. As soon as I’ve got something definite, I will keep you posted, promised.

Meanwhile, I’m preparing for the release of my friend Will Hahn’s novel. I’ll be featuring him and his release here on this blog on the 17th of June (please come by and win something). At the same time, I’m preparing some of my short stories for release. Proofreading took much longer than I had anticipated though, but that shouldn’t delay the release for long. And last but not least, I finished planning the overall structure of my first planned series. The first volume is already written (has been for a while) and I’m currently translating it.

You see, I’m so terribly busy I simply forgot to post on my blog. I’m sorry and blame it all on the weather. Who do you blame if you can’t keep up with the requirements of life?

help me get reMIND funded

This is a call to action. I’m trying to get enough funds to finance a print run for the German translation of reMIND, a graphic novel. Since the story is freely available online and suitable for all reading ages, it makes perfect learning material for anyone studying the language.

Of course, if you’ve got relatives or friends who still read German, or if you’ve got relatives over here, in my home country, please let them know about this campaign. I need as many people to support it as possible.

Here’s the link. Thank you for the help.

new toy = more efficiency + weird dreams

I bought some really expensive piece of software: Dragon Natural Speaking. Currently, that’s the best voice recognition software in the world (as far as I know), and I’m using it to translate my novels (which I write in English) back into German. I’m delighted. Since I’ve been using the software, I get 30 to 50% more of my ususal daily wordcount.

However, the side effects are really strange. Have I told you that I dream a lot at night and that I usually remember my dreams in the mornings? Not, well you know now. Since I started using Dragon, my dreams become weirder. A couple of days ago I began dreaming punctuation too. It went like this:

quote why are you so angry question mark quote

It really drives me nuts.

Have you experienced something similar? I find it really weird.

Z – Zebra Stripes

Here’s the last post for the A-Z Blogging Challenge. It was a lot of fun but also very tiring, especially since I’m going to start my Kickstarter campaign in a few days. Here is a little poem called “Zebrastreifen” (zebra stripes), first published in 2007 in the book Wortbeben.

To understand this poem, you need to know that in German, a crosswalk or pedestrian crossing is called Zebrastreifen (zebra stripes). I know that the translation is less then perfect, but it’s a fun little poem and I hope you’ll like it despite the slightly bumpy rhythm.

Zebras range veldt and wilderness

calmly, side by side

like a picture peaceful and clear.

Life’s very diff’rent over here:

Runabouts jetting and dashing,

clanking and squeaking and crashing.

Your friendly police with their speed traps

know ev’rything here’s up for grabs.

Humans and animals, though strangers,

Need safety both from dangers.

The question is: who, in its section

of world, is best using protection.

The stripes on a zebra, long and bent

confuse tsetse flies, dodge their prick and ailment.

In our world, stripes on the road are wont

to save us from tires – but sometimes they don’t.

Y – Young Adult, my favorite age group

Young Adults drive me nuts, but they’re also the age group I love to write for. I guess it comes from being semi-stuck in my teens mentally. I remember how hard it was when you weren’t a child any more but not a woman yet. Also, I see my teen daughters struggle. Puberty is probably the hardest time in a person’s life. Everything changes including your own body. Books kept me grounded (as they do with my middle daughter). How about you? Are you a teen (or do you at least remember your time as a teenager)?

X – X-Men (a short discourse)

This is all I’ll say about X-Men:

Hugh Jackman (ok, he’s one reason I am using the Oxford comma, but not the only one)

Swoon… he’s as sexy as my husband and that says something because my husband is the best and sexiest man alive!

W – Weirded out, Sad and still Content

A friend of mine is dying with no chance of a cure. This caught me cold since he barely escaped death after a severe accident a few years back. Instead of being devastated (I’m sure he ranted at some point but he didn’t share that), he decided to enjoy what little time he’s got left. When I last talked to him (it’s hard for him to talk), he reminded me that as long as I remember him, he won’t be truly gone. So I recorded a song for him that is tied to one of my fondest memories of him. Enjoy it with me, will you?

http://de.katharinagerlach.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Lili-Marlene.mp3

Lili Marlene, sung by me (therefore not perfect)

V – Veritas in eBook (or a writer’s despair)

I’m always extremely excited when a reader takes the time to write a review for one of my books. However, they don’t always turn out the way I want them. Although I know that I will never be able to please every single reader out there, I always despair when someone doesn’t like what I wrote. I’ve often wondered why. The answer is probably more complicated but I think, it’s because I care so deeply for the characters I write that I want people to like them.

The truth is that no one knows them the way I know them. No one cares for them as much as I do. So if a reviewer rejects my characters, it feels as if (s)he rejects some part of me. I know that’s not true. Most of my readers don’t even know me. Still, the feeling persists.

Of course, I’m getting much better at handling this disappointment. I just start writing a new book. Apropos book, I’ll be releasing something new soon, just in case you’re interested. If you haven’t already, sign up for my list so I can keep you posted.

U – Unexpected Challenges

In writing, I face unexpected challenges often. Mostly when my characters start doing things on their own without consideration to what I had plotted or planned for them. Usually, that requires either a change of plan (which is what I do most of the time) or a change of the character (which I do when (s)he derails the story too much). However, I face unexpected challenges in RealLife™ too. My two youngest are both in puberty which keeps my life… let’s say interesting.

How about you? What kind of unexpected challenges have you been facing recently?