Katharina Gerlach's Blog, page 27

My Monday Cup of Tea (ehm Cocoa): Booktrailer

Somehow, I’m rather proud of this trailer and hope very much that you like it too. There are a few tiny mistakes in the credits. If you notice one, you can contact me, and I’ll send you a small reward.

 

Have fun watching it, and don’t forget to share the trailer with your friends — or use the “thumbs up”-button at the top rim of the video (once it’s playing) to show me you liked the trailer.

Sneak a View — 7 lines

“And now for something completely different.”

Monty Python

I have been tagged by the wonderful Dawn Husted (thank you) with the 7 lines meme. For this, I have to post seven lines of one of my novels either from page 7 or from page 77 and start with the seventh line from the top. Well, for printed books that’s easy, for eBooks it isn’t. And if you look at the many published eBooks in my sidebar or in my drawer of WIPs, the choice gets even harder.

First, I needed to choose which story to use for this meme. After thinking it through thoroughly, I decided to use my newest publication “Scotland’s Guardians“. To determine where page seventy-seven starts, I used the agreed upon average a normed page should have in publishing, 250 words. So, page seventy-seven would start after the 19.250th word. From there, it was easy to figure out where line seven began. With 250 words on the average double spaced page, there are roughly seven words to a line — seven  lines will be around 50 words in total. I used some more:

…appeared. First, he was nearly transparent like a ghost, but he gained colour quickly until he stood beside her in person. He seemed elated.

“Great! On the first try! That’s what I call talent.”

Bryanna’s fingers tingled and her heart seemed to jump with excitement. She felt alive and strong enough to move mountains.

“I think something like this happened on my last train voyage.”

“It is…

I hope you like this snippet. Now, I have to nominate seven authors who are then free to use this meme or not. I hope they do since this idea is fun. I nominate:

C.L. Roth

Will L. Hahn

Delle Jacobs

Sher A Hart

Marti Verlander

Thea van Diepen

Roger Eschbacher

Wednesday’s Quote – and my take on it

“The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.”

Gustave Flaubert

This quote is incredibly important for my daily work. Again and again, I dive into my mind to make new discoveries. I do this because my life stays interesting and never gets boring, but also because my novels stay authentic that way. You could say I’ve been living through all the adventures I wrote. At least in my head. Of course, I hope that the pictures and people I discover become as real to my readers as they were for me. Do you know my books? What do you think? Did they come alive?

My Monday Cup…: Release Day

It’s time. Everything went as planned, so here it is: Scotland’s Guardians

Since Bryanna grows up in Scotland, she is familiar with hobgoblins, selkies, and kelpies from the tales of her homeland. But she is extremely surprised when she starts seeing these creatures one day. Is she hallucinating? Before she can ask her father’s advice, he is kidnapped by a woman whose scent seems awfully familiar. Instead of calling the police, Bryanna follows the kidnapper and lands smack-dab in the middle of the adventure of her life. It’s just as well she knows the old legends and myths well enough. The world she lands in is murderously dangerous. And even if she survives the journey, she is fated to kill her father.

All right, I played around with the cover some more, but I didn’t like the way the letters obstructed the lovely picture. I think it’s better now. Hopefully, you think so too.

I got the idea to this story during one of my numerous visits in Scotland. Beside the unbelievably beautiful nature, this country has much to offer particularly one thing: the supernatural. Every region has its own mythical creature, and every Scotsman knows at least one haunted house or Loch monster. No matter whether on the mountains, at the coast, or in the valleys, there are as many stories about brownies (household sprites), Boobries (giants birds), and kelpies (waterhorses) as there are grains of sand by the sea. Fascinated, I decided to put at least some of these creatures into a novel. It took form after a woman appeared in my mind whose eyes mirrored the Scottish moors and not the garden she looked at.

I very much hope you will enjoy the book.

Freaks Fun Friday: Owls

I am a freak, I admit it. When I was younger, I actually enjoyed going to school (go ahead, laugh at me) — not because I wanted to meet my friends, but because I loved learning new stuff. It hasn’t changed all that much. I’m still delighted if I manage to smuggle facts into my stories without anyone noticing. at this place, I’ll give you access to my twisted mind. Welcome to a Freak’s Fun Friday.

Yesterday, I had a fun conversation on Twitter about owls, so I thought, why not use them for a blog post? The thing I find most amazing about owls is how silently they can fly. With ever other bird, you can hear the flapping of wings, but not with owls. Their feathers are structured differently (see picture).

Due to the comb like filaments at the edges of the feathers and fluff on the feather’s surface, the wind blowing around the wings is whirled a lot more thus silencing the owl’s flight. Without a sound, they catch their prey, and the mice never learn what befell them. From the perspective of a mouse I’d say, owls are the Silent Death. From a human perspective I’d say, owls are incredibly elegant and efficient.

When I was a kid, my father raised three tawny owls in our attic because their mother had died in an accident. At first, he fed them minced meat but later, we bred white mice in a big, blue barrel filled with straw. The mice multiplied so fast, the owls never managed to keep up with the surplus. We underestimated the amount they can eat and the mice’s fertility. *grin*

Then, we got a breeding pair of eagle owls. The male had been born and raised in captivity, but the female had enjoyed freedom as a young bird. She broke her wing in a car accident, and all vets were sure she would never fly again. With the two eagle owls, the mice population’s rapid growth was no longer a problem.

One night, so called animals’ rights activists cut open the cage where the eagle owls were kept. The next morning, the male sat on a nearby bench, nearly scared to death. He just didn’t know how to cope with the wide open space around him. He seemed very glad when my father returned him to the (repaired) cage. To everybody’s surprise, the female sat in a tree flying (clumsily) from one branch to the next until her wing was strong enough. Then, she left. She was seen once more months later.

Can you tell I’m still mad at the animals’ rights activists? The male owl could have died from fright. Birds are sensitive. If you want to accustom a cage born owl to freedom, it takes a lot of time and patience, and some never learn to cope. And for the female, my father would have eventually figured out that her wing got better. He would have returned her to the wilderness because he’s not one of those people who enjoy keeping animals in captivity. I think it would have been much, much better to talk to my father instead of doing something so stupid.

BTW, the male eagle owl is still alive and thriving (In the wild, owls can reach up to 30 years of age, in captivity they can become anything from 35 to 60 years old). He got a new female (also born and raised in captivity) and they managed to raise a few chicks.

Do you have experiences with birds of prey (or any other bird for that matter)? Do you have a favorite bird? Let me know in the comments.

Review Monday: The Flintstones

Since I’ve been blabbing about the Stone Age most of last week, I decided to start looking for a film that would depict the Stone Age well. Disappointing enough, all Amazon came up with were Sesame Street DVDs. Either their search algorithm is broken, or there really are no good films about the Stone Age in English (which would be hard to believe). At least, the result made me remember a film I watched on TV quite a while ago, The Flintstones. I’m not talking about the cartoon-series but about the film with John Goodman and Rick Moranis as Fred and Barney.

About the film:

The overambitious superior of Fred Flintstone promotes him despite Fred’s lack of intelligence. With his pockets full of money and a boosted ego, Fred enjoys life to the fullest, completely forgetting his old friends. Of course this has to lead to problems, especially when Barney gets in the way of Fred’s superior’s ugly plans.

My thoughts:

Since I had been looking for a film that would show how people really lived in the Stone Age, finding nothing but the Flintstones was a disappointment. At least, even the smallest kid will understand that the way of life in the real Stone Age was much different from what this film shows. If you’re not expecting an accurate retelling of Stone Age customs, this film is great. The story is fast paced and intelligent, and the way Fred puts his foot in is hilarious. Still, the film manages to take its characters seriously. At the end, when Fred and Barney accidentally invent concrete, my sides hurt from laughing. Hey, sometimes you’ve got to put learning aside and have some fun (says someone who couldn’t stop learning if her life depended on it), and this is just the film for it.

Freaks Fun Friday: Stone Age Tools and Weapons

I am a freak, I admit it. When I was younger, I actually enjoyed going to school (go ahead, laugh at me) — not because I wanted to meet my friends, but because I loved learning new stuff. It hasn’t changed all that much. I’m still delighted if I manage to smuggle facts into my stories without anyone noticing. at this place, I’ll give you access to my twisted mind. Welcome to a Freak’s Fun Friday.

My first encounter with the Stone Age was a flint arrowhead I found in our garden when I was 6ish. Unfortunately, over the years (and several moves) I lost it. I bugged my dad for information. Why would anyone use stone weapons? How did they make them?

This is how scientists think humans made stone tools. The picture is by José-Manuel Benito Álvarez.

It thrilled me when I found out that stone tools are just as sharp as metal ones although they splinter more easily and blunt faster. I stood in awe when my parents took me to an exhibition and I saw my first axe. I had never thought it possible to cut down a tree with a small stone embedded in a piece of wood.

The picture, taken by Bullenwächter via Wikimedia Commons, shows an axe with a copper blade, but the stone axes looked just the same. I couldn’t find a fitting picture

But what surprises me to this day is the long time humans have been using tools. The oldest stone tools have been found in Africa, and they’re 2.6 million years old. OK, compared to the age of dinosaur fossils that’s young, but if I use a human life in comparison…

By the end of the Stone Age, humans (our ancestors to be precise) had developed the making and use of their tools to perfection. There were trade routes from the North (where they had big flint mines) to the South, and from Europe all through Asia. Traders walked from village to village swapping stone tools for furs, pots, herbs or jewellery.

Whenever I think about this time my Muse goes into overdrive bombarding me with new ideas of stories I should write. It’s so much, I can’t keep up with them all. But one story I did write. Juma’s Rain is about an ambitious young girl dreaming to become the next chieftess of her tribe, but forced to become the village witch’s apprentice.

Tell me, are there time periods you are specifically interested in? have you discovered that there are stories in history? Let me know in the comments.

Cover Reveal: Scotland’s Guardians

Since Bryanna grows up in Scotland, she is familiar with Hobgoblins, Selkies or Kelpies from the tales of her country. But she is very surprised when she begins to see these creatures one day. Is she suffering form hallucinations? Before she can ask her father’s advice, he gets kidnapped by a woman whose scent is strangely familiar to Bryanna. So, she follows the kidnapper instead of informing the police and lands smack dab in the middle of the biggest adventure of her life. It’s just as well she knows the old tales well enough. The world she lands in ins murderously dangerous.

Scotland’s Guardians will be available at the end of the month as an eBook on Amazon. Other retailers will follow. A date for the print-version will be announced on time.

Review Monday: First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts

I found a new Indie author recently, and was delighted by her books. Lari Don writes for the Middle Grade audience, and her stories are full of adventure (absolutely perfect for her readers).

About the book:

Helen has absolutely no interest in becoming a vet like her mother. So she isn’t best pleased when asked to help an injured horse. Only this horse isn’t entirely normal – and nor are his friends. Without warning, Helen is thrust into an extraordinary world full of magical rituals, fantastical creatures and a dangerous, powerful beast known as the Master, who would destroy it all. Everything hinges on finding the lost Book of Wisdom before the Winter Solstice. Can Helen work out the riddles and help her new friends to make amends for a foolish prank?

My thoughts:

I loved this book although it was clearly aimed at Middle Grade readers. The characters were fun, and Helen became very real for me. Her reluctance to do what she had to do mixed well with her sense of duty. I kept turning the pages wishing the story were longer (and I’m well past 40yrs of age). The mythological creatures are fairly well known, but they had their own personalities which made them unique. I loved the way the story twisted this way and that, bouncing new problems into Helen’s path whenever I though she was getting closer to the truth. This book is well worth a read. I was glad to discover that there are more books in this series, and although I hardly ever read series, I will read this one.

You can get “First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts” as Paperback or as an eBook in any major bookshop.

Freak’s Fun Friday: The Nok-Culture

I am a freak, I admit it. When I was younger, I actually enjoyed going to school (go ahead, laugh at me) — not because I wanted to meet my friends, but because I loved learning new stuff. It hasn’t changed all that much. I’m still delighted if I manage to smuggle facts into my stories without anyone noticing. At this place, I’ll give you access to my twisted mind. Welcome to a Freak’s Fun Friday.

My current WIP (Work In Progress), “Juma’s Rain”, is set in a Stone Age Africa that never was. Still, some facts remain true to what happened in our world. I love mixing real life elements into my story, so I did it again. This time, I chose the Nok-culture, named after some terrific Terracotta statues first found near the town of Nok.

 

Scientists are loathe to declare Nok a culture because they know so little about their economy, religion, or everyday life. One thing they are certain about is that the Nok people learned to forge iron 500-1000 years BC. Intensive research showed that they learned iron forging without learning about copper first. Scientists all over the world are still puzzled by this fact, and I find it absolutely fascinating. They are wondering if the Nok developed these skills independently or if they learned them from traveling smiths of other countries. I’m inclined to believe they learned it without help. Maybe, one of their gods taught it to them. *grin*

It was hard to find relevant facts about everyday life in Stone Age Africa, so I mixed what I know about the time in Europe with the way some of the more traditional tribes still live today. It might not be accurate, but should be close enough. Truth be told, life wasn’t all that different all over the world at that time. Sure, the cultural backgrounds and the individual religions, customs, and beliefs differed, but planting and harvesting, breeding and slaughtering, cooking and cleaning had to be done with only slight variations due to climate.

Whenever I read something about people from the Stone Ages, I keep wondering if they really were that much different from us today. They fell in love, they ate, they had to use the toilet, they quarreled, they were happy or not… I’m sure they would get along well today, too. What do you think? Have you ever thought about people from other times or cultures? Let me know in the comments.