Messy.
There's candles (safely away from the paper, of course), lots of pens and pencils and colours, usuallly some sort of chocolate (I'm kind of addicted. No, just kidding. I'm definitely addicted) and a bottle of water. Depending on what I write with, there's either my laptop or a notebook.

I grew up in Bavaria, South Germany. We have lots of woods and lakes and of course the Alps (big ass mountains, in case you're wondering) are barely an hour away. I spent nearly all my free time with ponies and horses, then later the rest of my time filled with Aikido practice, choir and - of course - writing. Living in the countryside, I would go everywhere by bike, which gave me lots and lots of time for daydreaming. Same goes for mucking out stables, by the way. That's how the first three or four or eight of my books came into being. I love nature, and lots of the settings in my earlier books are inspired by what I was familiar with back then.

Braiding hairstyles. Or is it called plaiting in English?
I used to braid the mane (and tail) of every horse I could get my hands onto. Over the last couple years, since I'm studying abroad and have less contact with horses, I started applying all the stuff I learned to my own hair as well as any victim willing to sacrifice twenty minutes of their time. I guess it's a nice timefiller while talking to someone?

Elementary school, grade three or four (that's age eight or nine, I think). Just little stories, usually about how I would by some miracle get my own horse. Then, when my sisters and I actually got a horse of our own, the stories evolved and - fed by a constant diet of fantasy books - the second book I published actually didn't have horses in it. Well, at least not too many.

Alright, I'll give you two for the price of one. Wicked Fire is the first book in a series, but I actually wrote the second book before the first. Like, the storyline of the first one was somewhere in my mind, but the second one (Lubica - Wicked Earth) I was obsessed with. It was my first take at a proper romance novel and I felt very daring writing it. Wicked Fire only came into being nearly half a year later, when I finished it just in time to put it under the Christmas tree for my mum (spoiler: it's still her favourite amongst my books. Wonder why.)
Second, I didn't know I would be learning Scottish Gaelic three years later. I thought I was going to study veterinary science and had no idea that Celtic Studies even existed. Fate's ironic like that sometimes.

I had a publishing house for my first book and got burned. Not terribly; I have since come across much worse stories than mine. But, well, if I can get higher quality for less money taking care of the whole process myself, I'd be stupid to use a publishing house just to have the stamp of approval, so to say. If the right publishing house or agent would approach me, I probably wouldn't say no, but I'm also very happy with the way things are running at the moment.

Since I only just uploaded my first book on Smashwords, I can only take an educated guess here. I'd say having an opportunity to offer my books as high quality ebooks is a big step forwards in terms of availability and publication range.

Being pulled into a completely different world. Creating something heartbreakingly beautiful, bringing the characters from my head to paper so I can share them with others. The incredible high of finishing a new book - I've done it, I wrote a complete book, I really am a writer! - and the anxious wait for reactions from whoever gets to read it first. What if they deject my work? What if they don't love those characters I've laughed and cried with over the last weeks, months, years?
And, definitely one of the best perks: Talking to people about my books. My friends know better than to touch that topic with a ten-foot-pole, because I won't shut up if they do. There's so much stuff to my characters that never makes it into the books. Their favourite colour, childhood memories, funny experiences.

Oh dear.
I honestly can't remember. The last one was "The House on Chicken Legs" and before that "The Girl Who Drank The Moon". Books make me cry much easier than real life. Another one I had to put down because I cried so hard I couldn't go on was "Graceling", where (spoiler alert!) Bo loses his sight. It's not even that dramatic, but I loved (and continue to love) that book and was so drawn in by the characters that I totally lost it. I still cry sometimes, even though I've read it at least fifty times by now.

Translating three of my already published books into English, writing the next book in a) the Mountain Range series, b) my crime series Bewildering City and c) the third book in my Raven Quadrology. All of them books I've been dying to write for ages. Unfortunately, I'm also kind of really busy with university at the moment and have barely time left to sleep and eat, let alone sit down and write, which is very frustrating. But the degree has to come first. I'm also working on a children's book with illustrations which is a really big thing for me because if I can do that, it means to me that I can draw. Well, sort of.

Cornelia Funke, Astrid Lindgren, Nalini Singh, Kristin Cashore, Tina Caspari, Abbi Elphinstone and lots more that I can't remember right now but will as soon as I hit the submit-button :)

My alarm.
No, seriously, it kind of depends. When I'm at home, my horse. At uni... the languages I'm learning, the books I'm addicted to, the stories in my head that sometimes just won't shut up. But, yes, it's much easier at home. Especially over the summer, when I would go out for a hack with a friend every morning at sunrise - 5 am, even 4.30 on the longest days. It's cruel, really. You get out of bed at that time when it's pitchblack outside and you're shivering with cold and just want to curl up under the warm cover again. Especially when I have to cycle to the horse yard. But then the sun rises and the birds sing so loud you can barely talk over it and the horses' breath goes up in dragonlike clouds in the air and it's like you're in a completely different world. That's when my friend and I agree to meet again the next morning, same time.

Depends. At home, mostly with my horse or martial arts (though I didn't get round to practice a lot lately). Choir, catching up with friends and family, hoping for one of our cats to drop by, gardening - and of course reading. I don't get to read nearly as much as I'd like (who doesn't?). A bit part of my time also goes to everything around writing - plotting, proofreading, thinking about cover ideas, working on the website, checking facts, trying to get good sources about things I'd like to write about. And of course studying takes up a lot of time when I'm not at home. I enjoy travelling, had the great fortune of getting to do some language courses over the last years and plan to do more in the future (because, in case you haven't noticed yet, I'm kind of bonkers when it comes to languages)

Oh my God, how could I ever decide??? I think I would go with a dragon. If mythical creatures are out of the question, probably a tiger (they're nicer than lions and prettier) or simply a cat. That's a tough question!! I also love ravens, wolves, bears, seals and horses (of course). But, yes, I think the only one I could really decide on would be a dragon.

Graceling by Kristen Cashore, because Katsa is absolutely amazing and the relationship between her and Bo is beautiful
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren because of all the memories connected to it (and because those books are FUN)
Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke because I can read it again and again and again (also, uh, dragons??)
Magnus Chase by Rick Riordan (I know this is cheating but these series, starting with PJ of course, have had a really, really big influence on my teenage years) because Malex (yes, I am a Malec-fan, too) and oh my God, don't get me started on the diversity in there!
Billy the Kid and the Vampires of Vegas (which is actually a novella) by Michael Scott because I love Scatty and want an entire series about her and Aoife

Children's books, because my nerves are too weak for all the (emotional) drama in YA fiction (looking at you, Cassandra Clare), crime and romance novels, non-fiction books about interesting topics.

Phone if I can't have a printed copy because there's nothing better than curling up in bed with a hot water bottle and a good book (and chocolate) and the laptop is too big.