An author’s tale
I was born in Germany in 1952, on a small island in the North Sea on the West Coast of Germany, called Föhr. It was an amazing place to grow up, surrounded by the sea, with beautiful beaches on one side, dykes and marshland on the other side of the island. Life on the island is dominated by the tides, at low tide, extensive mudflats appear and invite you to walk out several kilometres to the receding waterline. The climate is considered ‘mild’, similar to England. Still, it is quite possible for the sea to freeze over during winter, and ice skates and toboggans appear regularly during the winter season. We were a close-knit family, weekends were spent together - walking, ‘Kaffeetrinken’, games and music - and after school, I often helped out in one of my parents’ grocery shops.
I was bored at school, though, and left after Year 11. I had enjoyed German and English but did not do well at maths and sciences. At a loss what to do, I worked in the wholesale department of my parents’ business. But shorthand, typing and accounting did not enthral me either. When I met my future husband while holidaying in Spain, I jumped at the chance to migrate to Australia. In 1972, I arrived in Melbourne, Australia. Moving to Australia was certainly an adventure ... life as a migrant is a constant learning curve! There is the new language, as well as the culture, the habits and the way of life one has to adapt to. And then there's is the everyday - finding accomodation, a job, a network of friends. And thus life passes and all of a sudden years have passed! in 2017 my second husband and I decided, the time was right to return to Germany. Fortunately, we were able to take the house of my Great-grandmother on the island of Foehr. And here we live, once again surrounded by the North Sea. Life is good here - I continue to write, my books are getting published, I meet a lot of my readers through readings and talks which I offer throughout the year.
On the road to writing
A lot of authors report scribbling stories almost from the crib. I didn’t – I read a lot and I made up stories in my mind, just for me. I still do that now – when I work on a book, I play out the plot and the dialogue in my mind, first. When it feels right, I start writing.
Plunged into a culture and society that was completely alien at the age of 20, meant embarking on a giant learning curve. First, I worked in turn in the deli department of a Supermarket; as a waitress in a restaurant and a kitchen hand in a boarding school. For a while, I trained as a Nurse’s aid, until it dawned on me that that did not necessarily lead into a career of a fully fledged nurse. Eventually, I chose to return to school and studied for matriculation. This time around, I excelled at school and went on to University to study English Literature and Sociology. I followed up with a Diploma of Teaching.
I always loved reading – best of all mystery and crime thrillers. When the time was ripe, for me to become an author, that was the genre I chose, novels where mysteries are waiting to be solved.
My two homelands, the island of Föhr and Australia, are always present in my writing. The migration theme weaves its way back into most of my novels – and then took a front stall, when I recorded the stories of German Migrants to Australia.
I enjoy exploring different genres – poetry, mysteries, children's books, short stories and, under the pen name Claire Andersen, romance novels.
Why write in English as a German author?
One part of me lives, speaks and thinks in English. Language is not just about words - nuances reflect experiences, culture, rituals, emotions, humour … To have more than one language is enriching. The temptation to write in English – to see what would develop – was too great to pass by.
Mystery
When I decided to write a novel in my first language, German, I thought long and hard about what to write. Myself, I always enjoyed crime fiction. A lot of my friends and acquaintances did too - so I thought, I would write a novel about a crime. Problem was, I didn't really know a lot about police work and I certainly had no idea about carving up bodies to get to clues. My 'crime novel' had to be a 'home brew'. That wasn't difficult, either! You see, if you come from a small island, like I do, you know that an awful lot of people know an awful lot about other people.
So, I created two elderly aunts, Ruth and Willa - between them they know all there is to know about most people on the island. Oh yes, of course my novel had to be set on Foehr, where I was born.
Ruth and Willa are marvellous. Although Ruth rarely leaves her home, she's a marvellous observer - and she has kept diaries for all of her life. Willa on the other hand, scoots about on her scooter and ferrets out secrets that people would prefer to remain long forgotten.
Then there are their four nieces - they assist with the leg work.
When Kerrin, their niece who has migrated to Australia, contacts her aunts and asks them to locate a lost child, Ruth and Willa - with the aid of Fritzi, Ose and Ane - leave no stones unturned until they discover a horrible truth.
And that's the plot for the first of my mysteries: Ebbe, Flut und Tod. They are followed by three more - find them on Amazon.
And on to ...
Recently, my writing is moving into a different direction. A short novel (Tante Friedas Freude an Bestattungen) is almost a satire, a tale of a formidable, robust lady with a strange hobby: She loves attending funerals. She is also wise, a great listener and a friend and advisor to her great niece. Whe the niece experiences death close to her, Great-aunt Frieda is by her side.
The new novel (due December 2020) is the closest to science fiction that I will ever get! "Die Insel der Zeitlosen" is set on a sleepy island where the islanders are suddenly confronted progress in the shape of a wellness resort that threatens to ruin the homely hotels and slightly outdated family pensions. Not only do the islanders need to compete to save their livelihoods, they also discover that people on the island have stopped to die ...
Read more about the road to becoming a published author and Sabine's books on http://www.sabinenielsen.net/sabines-blog
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