I was raised in the most-beloved village of Bavaria, Ascholding, near Wolfratshausen. When I received a scholarship by the German Academic Exchange Service, I left that idyllic place for some prickly Texas cactus. I came of age in the Texas Hill Country, my home away from home, studying anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin. I soon realized, Texas was all about attitude. This certainly matched with what I had brought from Bavaria. Texas bewitched me enough to do another MA in Photojournalism.
Since I read my first book, I had always wanted to write one. I have practiced in all genres of publishing, writing a ton of stories and news features, but never a book. My articles have appeared in a variety of publications in Europe and the USA. I have worked as an editor at a weekly paper in Munich, interned at the Bayerischer Rundfunk, survived a one-of-a-kind stint as a small-town newspaper photographer in New Braunfels, Texas, and ran books off the mill for Harcourt Brace College Publishers. I even dissected medical copy for a while.
Now I just finished my first major manuscript after five years of plucking away at it in the wee hours. It's 75 percent perfect, but I am still honing my skills on the other 25 percent. I am hooked on the wizardry of words. To create my world, I don't need paint, or clay, or brick, I only need a pen and paper. Writing puts me in control. I can let the bad guy die and the good girl get her prince. When I read or write, the art of word is no longer black on white but grows into a colorful rainbow of imagery.
I am not a woman of many words, but I like to play with them. Although I have a full-blown manuscript on hand—before this piece is between its covers— I am available as a pen for hire. Or gun for hire. Call me if you need me for a feature article, ad campaign, newsletter, or sharp photographs. Like they say, wherever you go, there you are. Wherever I went, there I have been. And I always carry these places fondly with me.