• FeministGoodVibes,  Lifestyle,  LoveandLife,  Uncategorized,  Women Empowerment,  Women50Plus,  WomenforWomen,  Writing

    On Being a SomethingPlusWoman

    A friend of mine alerted me to a whole string of recently published articles in major German newspapers, harping on the fact that “a 50plus woman” has such a hard time to find a partner. Or rather is very unlikely to ever find a partner. The logic was always simple and on the face of it quite striking: At 50plus, people (not only women?) are set in their ways and not willing to open up to the quirks and routines of a life with a new partner; Men always go for younger, crispy, shiny women anyways, turning a somethingpluswoman automatically to some sort of leftover; Men are intimidated by those…

  • Climate Change,  Creative writing,  Literary Fiction,  Munich Writers,  Norderney,  Nordsee,  Poets for a Change,  Rise of Sea Levels

    On Drowning – A Love Declaration

    As long as I can remember, I have been in love with a sandbank. And all my ancestors have been before me. For generations, my family has spent its holidays on a small island in the Northern Sea, a few miles off the German coast. And for generations, this is where this family had its best times. Freed from the troubles of home, together and yet unbound. No matter what heavy heart you come with, watching the waves crashing into the sand, shaping the island anew every day, inevitably sets you free. The strongest possible reminder that life is change and what seems big to you now is just a sand…

  • Creative writing,  Literary Fiction,  Munich Writers,  The write life,  Writing

    The Dullness of Conflict – inspired by Ursula K. LeGuin

    It is a widely accepted notion that peace, though desirable, leaves mankind unsatisfied and with a desire to fight for a cause. In peaceful times, it is harder to give life purpose and to feel yourself. A wealthy, complacent society, like the German one I am blessed to live in, therefore is believed to inevitably generate a hunger for conflict. This mindset feeds into the entertainment we provide each other with these days. Plots are increasingly focused on crime and murder, the little wars of our times. Every other TV series starts with a dead body or a torture scene. War movies with extensive massacres are blockbusters. Modern literature makes…

  • Uncategorized

    MLB Freitagslesung – a brief account and a big thank you!

    Even before my first novel was published, I have participated in author’s readings whenever I could, but the pandemic put a halt to any direct exchange with the audience. Of course, I have been doing zoom readings, like everyone else. And it has been fun to read to people abroad I would probably never have reached otherwise. But the connection is different. It is rare that one creates a moment so memorable that it sticks to your mind. As a student I have been a very committed actress. First in the school’s drama club and then later on at university, until exam preparations began to severly limit my free time.…

  • Arcana 2021,  Creative writing,  Literary Fiction,  Munich Writers,  Poetry,  The write life,  Uncategorized,  Writing

    Throwback Monday – Arcana 2021 is coming up!

    I have always had a thing for tarot cards. Not so much to rely on them as a kind of super-natural prophecy but for their rich imagery. They idea of combining so many symbols in each card that it engages your subconcious is intriguing. The human mind sees in them what it wants to see, and thereby you learn what truly moves you these days, no fooling yourself. I was therefore delighted when I was asked to participate in last year’s Arcana, a Munich art project which draws inspiration from Tarot cards. Each year it features a select group of artists and writers from around the world. Due to Covid,…

  • Uncategorized

    Portlandia – and the postpandemic desire for a brave new world

    The end of a pandemic is sure as hell just as weird as the pandemic itself. I naively used to think that one day, it would be all over, people would open their windows, screaming and laughing and dancing in the street for days. Instead, freedom has crept in gradually, with the first vaccination, figures going down, and suddenly one realizes, one could attempt travel the world again, at least in parts. And once realized, that feeling for me became so strong it required some sort of manifestation. An expression of that sense of awakening, like a packing of bags or a decampment – and yet one stays put. At…

  • Uncategorized

    It was the Best of Times, It was the Worst of Times

    This famous quote by Charles Dickens is the first line of his novel “The Tale of Two Cities”, a historical novel about the years leading up to the French revolution. It is a standard example in writing classes about “How to begin a novel” because it not only sticks with you, but also intrigues you to no end. Every author dreams about finding a first line like that. And it has been constantly used in past months to describe the times we live in. So, inevitably, here comes my version of it 😊   It was the best of times, it was the worst of times   We have been deprived,…

  • Writing

    Miyazaki and the Panther

    This is a teaser to my upcoming short story collection “Almost Happy”, hopefully to be published  by the end of 2021, yay! Almost Happy is all about that intensity we call love, the joys and wisdoms it brings and how it makes us who we are – with or without a Happy Ending. It consists of four novellas and five short stories which act as a kind of intermission. The novellas all begin with a poem as a prologue, capturing the heart of the story. This here is one of my favourites: Miyazaki and the Panther is the story of a young single woman who desperately tries to will her…

  • Writing

    Locked Down in Winter – or the Fear of the Pause

    It is snowing outside; I am sitting inside. Warm, healthy, and rested. It is well below zero and I watch the snowflakes dance through the air. Perfect crystals making tiny pirouettes before they land on each other, forming a white, flawless blanket. A friend just sent me a video of his cat sitting by the window, trying to chase them. One by one. Life seems to be paused. As if somebody pushed a button and put the big game of life on hold. Though this winter is a Pause unlike anything we have lived through, it seems to me that the state of being paused is not entirely new. Winter…

  • Writing

    From the House of Prompts: The China-Woman

    At writing workshops, tutors often use every day items or photographs as a writing prompt. It always amazes me what complex stories people can spin from the simplest things. When I come home for Christmas, I often feel as if I am entering the House of Prompts. My parents’ house is full of things that were inherited from my grandparents, that belonged to my father or that were a gift from someone we once knew. There is an emotional connection, a story how they entered this house, but usually no one to ask for a full account. Inevitably, we build their stories according to our own memories – and imagination…