Katharina Gerlach's Blog, page 22

Back from Memory-Lane

I am back – mostly. Today, I’ll still take the day off (after all, it’s my birthday) but tomorrow, I will get back to work. It’s been a very good summer holiday. Middle Girl looks like a brown egg with a white feather on top, and even Wee Girl’s delicate freckled skin developed a bronze tone (and no sunburn!).

The undersized woman in the red bathing suit, that’s me. *grin*

What impressed me most during our trip were the differences to what I remembered. The vicarage we used to live in during holidays when I was a kid still looked the same but was in better repair. The house was newly painted, the once dusty yard had been cobbled, and there was a new road around the church. The biggest difference however was in the people. The streets and beaches were as busy and teeming with life as in my childhood, and there were as many naked bathers as I remembered (the GDR was famous for their FKK (=naked) culture), but people were much more open. Friendships developed easily between my kids and others on the beach (something that rarely happened when I was there). We drew smiles when I herded the kids together for filming (our summer project is a short fantasy film this year). Of course, no soldiers showed up to confiscate the camera either.

For me, the world has become a better place regardless how difficult it is for my country to truly reunite and forgive the past.

Up, Up, and Away

Have you ever been to the Baltic Sea? I went very often when I was a kid. My father’s side of the family lived a long time in the (then) GDR, and he had friends that we visited every year. There was a forced money exchange of 25 DM per day and grown-up (1 DM for one GRD-Mark), children were a little less expensive. So, staying there for a fortnight with 2 parents and 4 kids was just as expensive as flying abroad would have been. But I gained some of my most favorite memories there (despite possibly spying neighbors). Those memories sparked “The Witches of Greenwitch”, the novel you can get for free if you join my no-spam mailing list. This is what it looks like (except these days there are many more people around, bathing in the sun or the sea).

Beach at the Baltic Sea, photo taken by Ostsee-Action.de

I am officially leaving the day after tomorrow and will spend two whole weeks there with no Internet access (yay), no writing(boo), no husband (boo), my kids (yay), my brother (yay), his wife (yay), and his boys (yay again).

Unfortunately with the upcoming anthology, there was so much to do that I did not manage to schedule posts in advance. So you’ve got to live without me till the beginning of August. I promise to be back shortly after my birthday. I think I’ll post some pictures when I return.

Enjoy the summer,

Happy news – at least for me

I am doing the happy dance today. There were so many good things that happened today (and one unshared older news) that I just have to tell you.

Two of my short stories have been accepted for (paid) publication in anthologies in the US.

(SQUEAL)

One story will be published in an anthology by Freedom Forge Press, the other made it into the “Think Sideways Writers Anthology” of writing teacher Holly Lisle. Isn’t the cover just awesome?

The Adventure of Creation
Think Sideways Writers Anthology

Also, my Wattpad story “Swordplay”, a YA fantasy murder mystery, made it into the final round in “The Write Awards 2013″. This contest is looking for well crafted stories on Wattpad, and the competition was fierce. We started out with nearly 100 participants and have been narrowed down to 10 by now. Mid-August, they will announce the winner.

And finally, my novel “Scotland’s Guardians” passed the first round of judging for the “Kindle Book Review: Best eBook 2013 Award” and is now a semifinalist in the Young Adult category.

All these good news make up for the fact that I don’t get much done with the kids on holiday.

Have a good time,

free today and tomorrow

From yesterday(25th of June) till Thursday (27th), my YA Science Fantasy “Paralan’s Children” is available for free on amazon.

Grab your copy while you can.

About the book:

 

Fresh from the academy, ambitious Galaktipol officer Vera Staven has been transferred to the only human settlement on the ice planet Paralan. Aside from smuggling, crimes are rare and the suicide rate is high. But something at the latest find nags at Vera, although no clues indicate it’s anything but a suicide.

When native Galaktipol officer Joloran Durim Brunàhgan meets the mother of his wee-ones for the yearly egg-opening feast, he doesn’t know he’s facing the worst case of his career. The next morning, fifteen Paralan wee-ones went missing, girls only. A catastrophe for the natives. Joloran hurls himself into the investigation, but he can’t get the murder of two wee-ones out of his mind that he couldn’t solve many years ago.

Paralan and humans harbor prejudices, making it hard for Joloran to follow all clues. Against his will, his superior requests support from the humans. POK Vera Staven is assigned to him, the only woman in the human Galaktipol station on Paralan. And time is running out. With every passing day, the probability of finding the wee-ones alive shrinks. But only as a team, Joloran and Vera might have a chance. Can they overcome their prejudices and cooperate, or will they find these children disemboweled in the icy wilderness of the planet’s far side too?

It’s already rated 4-5 stars on Amazon.com and Amazon.de.

Get the English verison here

and the German version here.

Enjoy, and please leave a review,

My trip to Kent, England

On the third day, I took most of my photos. There were so many beautiful and interesting things to see. First we visited Hailsham Grange, a former vicarage from the early 18th century with an incredibly wonderful garden. It is not very big but effortlessly merged the formality of British gardening traditions with wild growth and carefully selected color schemes. The owner and creator of the garden, Noel Thompson, graciously leads visitors through his domain and explains the ideas behind his garden. The visit is rounded off with tea or coffee. I was as delighted by the hospitality as by the beauty of the garden.

a formal area in front of the main house

a more natural area with a lovely spot to sit and enjoy the garden

Our next stop was Old Clergy House, the first ever house to be acquired by the national Trust of England (they paid ten pounds for it at the time). The house was built by a yeoman (small, free landowner for all non-Brits) and was later sold to the church as a vicarage. Inside, a woman in a traditional farmer wife’s costume explained about the architecture and answered all our questions. Outside, a glorious garden, much wilder than the other ones we had seen, surrounded the cottage.

I loved the old timber framing. It’s so different from the timber framing I know from Germany

Colorful flowerbeds surround the house

Judas tree (Cercis siliquastrum)

Last but not least, we visited Hever Castle, where Anne Boleyn grew up. The more formal cut boxwoods cluster near the castle while the wild Rhododendron compositions spread out to the side in a huge park. There also is a lovely lake at the bottom of the garden with a Chinese pagoda. I marveled most at a poplar so wide that two people’s arms wouldn’t have been long enough to embrace it.

Hever Castle, the home of Anne Boleyn

Rhododendrons in bloom – most marvelous

I hope you still like my pictures because there’s two more days to go.

Let me know in the comments where you prefer to travel to,

My trip to Kent, England

The second day was sunny, and I nearly got sunburnt. I didn’t expect that much sun in England, not in spring.

The first stop was Sissinghurst Gardens, designed and maintained by a friend of Virginia Woolf. The different gardens around a central double tower impressed me.

Also, there was a room, called Virginia Woolf’s room, I very much liked. Guess why?

In the traditional cut boxwood hedges, countless Robins hopped around. Some were so tame we could entice them with breadcrumbs.

Later, we drove to Great Dixter. Those gardens were less formal, although there were also the typical flowerbeds framed with boxwood hedges. The combination of colors was most impressive. The strange houses in the picture are oasts (barns to dry hop). The top rotates in the wind allowing air to continuously circle through the barn.

Last, we visited the fisher village Rye in East Sussex. Originally, it stood right beside the sea. Nowadays, it’s nearly 2 miles to the coast. This incredible motorbike stood in one of the shop windows. It’s completely made of willow. An incredible piece of art!

On Friday, I’ll post more pictures. I hope I’m not boring you.

My trip to Kent, England

For the last week, I’ve been to Kent in England, GB. It was a wonderful trip. I have to say there’s a reason why it’s called “England’s Garden”. Also, I was lucky with the weather. The first few days were very sunny, and the rest at least dry. Only the last day was rainy, but since we spent it mostly indoors in Windsor Castle, it didn’t bother me at all.

Over the next week, I’ll post a couple of my photos to give you an impression of what it was like. I’m still sorting through my memories, trying to store the multitude of new ideas that flooded my imaginative mind.

 

Look how close the cars (and we as travellers) were to the end of the ship.

 

If you haven’t seen the Cliffs of Dover, they’re well worth a visit.

 

On the first day, we visited Canterbury and walked around the Cathedral. After nearly 1000km travelling by car, it was a welcome break. I loved the way some houses were really, really twisted and wondered how that could happen. My Muse suggested that the houses would run around at night playing hide and seek with the Cathedral. When they return to their place, some are too tired to stand up straight.

 

I loved the Cathedral’s gardens best. Framed by the ancient masonry, they looked even more splendid.

I’ll post more on Wednesday and Friday, and hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I do.

Blog-Break

I am going on a holiday to visit gardens and castles in Kent, England! It will be the first time since my marriage nearly 20 years ago that I’ll be travelling without my husband and kids. I’m scared stiff to say the least.

What if hubby doesn’t manage to handle the kids? After all, they’re both in puberty and very easily annoyed. What if they have to live on muesli and pancakes for the whole week? What if it keeps raining and our house is flooded? What if my dog stops eating because he misses me so much? What if… But probably not.

My mind knows exactly that everything will go well. It’s just this over-active imagination dumping horrors on me. I wonder how people who aren’t authors cope with these things. I can sit down and write a story where all the bad things happen increasing the catastrophes until the world explodes. After that, I can set aside my worries because my emotional side finally understands how unlikely these things are. But what do you do (no, not you, author. The one beside you)? Let me know, please. I’m curious.

Wednesday’s Quote – and my take on it

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

Lao Tse

I should take this to heart a bit more. I’m trying so hard to get everything done at once (new WIP, revision, preparation for publication, marketing, private life) that I feel rather drained these days. Before I became an independent publisher, I knew that I needn’t hurry, just work constantly at my own pace. I seem to have lost sight of that, so this quote came at the right time.

My Monday Cup of Tea (ehm Cocoa)

Yesterday, I discovered a feature on my Goodreads profile that allows me to invite my Facebook and Twitter friends. I was reluctant to use it since it felt a little spammy to me. Then, I thought, “But they’re my friends already and if they don’t want to follow me on Goodreads, they don’t have to.” I clicked the button. This morning, I woke up nearly 100 new friends. My eyes nearly popped out of my head.

Thank you so much, friends!

Now, if some of you have actually read stories by me and liked them, please stay informed by joining my newsletter (you’ll get a full YA Fantasy novel by me plus two short stories by fellow authors as a reward). It’s guaranteed spam-free. I’ll only mail when I’ve got news for you (releases and special offers). Sign up now. Thanks.