NEW Science Fiction Mystery by Author Katharina Gerlach

January 29, 2014 admin 5 comments

NEW BOOK RELEASE Today we are virtually traveling to Germany to meet my featured guest author Katharina Gerlach for the release of her new book “Swordplay”, and Blog Tour starting end of month.

My Interview With Katharina Gerlach

1) What made you decide to write? And what has it been like for you getting there? It wasn’t a conscious decision. I’ve always been telling and writing stories (my earliest written ones are one page in length with 1inch high letters: D), so I guess I just can’t live without stories. But I never thought storytelling might make a viable career. I studied and worked until my best friend found documents from the 19th century in her attic. The details she unearthed were so interesting; I simply had to write a novel about the events (Ann Angel’s freedom, YA historical romance). My friend and I published the books with a tiny publisher here in Germany, and it became quite a success. Although it didn’t make us millionaires, it imprinted on my idea that there might be people out there who like my stories. That’s when I started pursuing publishing in earnest – and with the possibilities of going Indie when the eBook wave hit, I knew I was doing something I really wanted to do.

eBook on Amazon: German, Englisch

2) How many books do you have out right now? Oi, difficult question. Let me go and check for a second… OK, back. Including “Swordplay”, I’ve got seven novels, three anthologies with short stories by me only, five short stories in anthologies of other publishers, one non-fiction writing advice eBook, and one audio-book published.

3) You have a new release coming up in a new series, Swordplay –Gendarmerie Magique #1. Your blog tour starts January 30 and goes through February 12,2014. Can you tell us a little about it? Well, the book is about Moira. She’s the only one without a good grasp of magic in a world where everyone has at least a little bit of magical talent. Despite her disability, she is determined to join the magical police, the Gendarmerie Margique. Helping with a burglary, she soon finds that the stolen weapons are used to murder. Now she has to learn to control an uncontrollable magic before it’s too late (Of course I mixed a little romance in as well).

4) Can you tell us 3 little known facts about your heroine Moria Bellamie, and 3 about the antagonist and/or the world they live in? a) – Moira’s aura sparkles like a rainbow – she’s addicted to boring books about police procedures and crime scene investigation – she misses her mother who’s living in a tiny village several miles form the town Moira lives b) – the nerls of Moira’s world are more complex than humans anticipate – the elfqueen is NOT a good ruler although she insures that there are nearly no crimes committed by elves – two thirds of recent improvements in crime scene investigations were filed by Excelsior van Steen, the father of Moira’s crush, Druidus.

5) What is it that draws you to write about the worlds you choose for your heroines and heroes? They are difficult. I love it when the world adds to the characters problems instead of solving them. Everyone would think that living would be easy in a world where everyone can use magic, but this story shows that new “technologies” lead to new problems. But the humans (in this case my characters) adapt, and I hope they will continue to do so.

6) When writing Swordplay, do you have a favorite part you would like to share? My favorite part of anything I write is revision. I find it exhausting to write the novel one word at a time. But once the first draft is done, the fun begins for me. Killing off characters, check. Moving scenes, check. Adding descriptions, check. Revision is the place where everything comes together for me.

7) What did you find most difficult about writing this story? For this story, my Muse refused to show me the full picture. She fed me little bits here and there. Only when I was really hooked did she reveal that she had planned this to become a series all along. I was quite angry with her because I don’t really want to write a series. But this world and these people are so alive in my head now, I cannot NOT write their stories.

8) What is your writing routine/rituals? Do you have a certain place or time of day to write that suites your muse best? I write from the minute the kids are out of the house until the first one returns at 2pm every single weekday (weekends are free). Usually, I write my daily quota first. Only then will I turn to marketing, formatting and other things. Sometimes, I take a few days off to plan a new story or to write something short. This time, I took all of January off to introduce my first ever series properly (organizing a blog tour is more exhausting than I thought).

9) What inspires you? The world. Yeah, I know that answer is too short, but it really is the only one I can give. I get hit by inspiration by the weirdest things. They found a Roman battlefield not 15 miles from where I live… bam, new short story. I dislike a selfish elderly man…another story. I read a couple of Arabian Nights tales… novel. Usually two or three elements combine into something new, something that grabs me in a ways that forces me to write the story.

10) What are your writing goals for this year? I’d like to write at least one more novel in a MG series I just started (the first volume will be published soon) and one more novel in the Gendarmerie Magique series (planning is nearly done).

11)Do you have any personal goals outside of writing that you would like to share? I want to see my children happy. Life has dealt them a heavy hand, and I’m trying my best to help them see that they are special in their own way even if the rest of the world frowns at their inability to understand certain conventions.

12) Is there anything you would like to say to your readers or fellow writers? If you love stories, read as much as you can. And please leave reviews, even short ones help the authors.

About the Book CSI with magic but without the gore

Despite her obvious lack of magical talent, nineteen year old Moira Bellamie apprentices with the Gendarmerie Magique, the magic police. She puts all her effort into solving a burglary at the NationalMuseum where antique weapons have been stolen, to keep the hard won job. Falling for her partner Druidus wasn’t part of the plan. When more and more people are murdered with one of the stolen weapons, Moira must tame uncontrollable magic, or the people she cares for will die, her partner first and foremost.

For lovers of Fantasy and Mystery from 14 years up

eBook on Amazon: German, Englisch and

Smashwords: German, Englisch other retailers will follow Paperback in German or Englisch on Createspace (Beware: postage), Amazon (no postage) will follow soon and can be found through the eBook pages

About Katharina

I’ve been telling and writing stories all my life, but only two year ago, with the success of eBook publishing, I became an Indie author. I never looked back. Sure, my manuscripts have found praise with traditional publishers, but no one had the courage to publish something they couldn’t neatly stuff into a labeled box.

Well, just like my books, I don’t fit one box. I’m the daughter of a forester and a studied forester myself. I’m sister to three brothers, and a mother to three daughters. I’m a tomboy at heart and simultaneously tidy and chaotic – I can’t be any different with my Muse (the creative part of me) dragging me in one direction and my Editor (the neat, logical side) pulling in another.

There are three things in this world I love more than anything: my family, stories (mine and those of others) and nature. The best thing that can happen to me is when someone I don’t know leaves a review for one of my books telling me how much she liked it.

Katharina’s website
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