Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in the middle of a forest in Northern Germany. Of course, this influenced me heavily -- from my preference of fantasy and mythology to my choice of studies (forestry, no wonder there). To this day, the best place to be for me would be on a blanket in a secluded spot in a forest with a book in my hand.
What motivated you to become an indie author?
I'm agented but German publishers are currently too scared to pick up new authors that don't fit the bins they created for their books. My stories always have (and always will) broken the barriers. In them, I mix biology with science and fantasy (Paralan's Children), history with fantasy (Urchin King), fantasy with crime (Swordplay) and more. Naturally, I'm not a favorite author of German publishers despite the fact that agents and editors love my stories. Since I knew there had to be people out there who would like to read boundary breaking stories, I went Indie and never looked back.
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