Fairy tales, books, translation - an interview with author Nadja Losbohm

It gives me great pleasure to feature author – and now friend – Nadja Losbohm, who has been enthusiastic about all my projects and has been a great support to Nadaness In Motion.

Please welcome her and check out the interview below. Your comments and shares are highly appreciated.

Nadja Losbohm is the author of The Huntress series and Alaspis, both of which will be discussed in depth shortly.

 

About Nadja

Tell us a bit about yourself. (Are you a full-time writer? Do you have a job alongside being a novelist? Pets, family?...)

Nadja Losbohm: I’m Nadja, 32 and I live in Berlin, Germany. I work as a dental nurse and write fantasy stories for everybody who loves to read. My parents were into drawing and writing poetry when they were young, too, so it is thanks to them that I enjoy writing and reading so much. I also like listening to music, photography, movies and being with friends. I love to travel, too, but I wished I had more time to do so. 

Q: Your favourite food?

NL: That’s hard to choose. I like potatoes, noodles and chocolate. What I do not like is green vegetables.  : ) 

Q: What countries would you like to visit someday?

NL: I always wanted to travel to New Zealand, Canada, Asia, Egypt, USA. Maybe, someday I will.

Q: Who are you favourite authors of all-time? (English & German writers)

NL: I absolutely love the books of authors Karen Marie Moning, Robin LaFevers and Brent Weeks. They created such wonderful and amazing worlds – it’s impressive and a real joy to read their books. My favourite German author is Michael Ende, who wrote “A Neverending Story”. With him, my love for fantasy books began.

Q: Are you an indie writer? What do you think the indie scene is like in Germany? (I mean is it as popular and broad-ranged as the US and UK, are there many publishers?)

NL: My first book, Alaspis – The Search For Eternity, was published by a publishing company, but The Huntress is an indie project. When I started as an indie writer I didn’t know how big the indie scene is in Germany. It’s huge and it’s growing every day! I think it is great people get the chance to publish their works independently. I already discovered a few gems, which would deserve to be on the bestseller lists. At least that’s my opinion.

Q: What are you favourite reading genres?

NL: I really love fantasy books. I could not live without fantastic stories. But I also like to read crime and thrillers.

The Huntress and Writing

Q: What first inspired Ada and The Huntress series?

NL: It was several small coincidences that inspired The Huntress. When I finished Alaspis, I wondered what to write next. I live very close to a small church and I thought it should be part of a story. Then there was somebody, who said I’d look a bit like “Snow White” due to my dark hair and pale skin. After that, I saw a man who was the inspiration for “Father Michael”, one of the main characters. So, he really does exist, if you want so. J Together, all these little things helped create The Huntress. I also wanted to write a fun story, which makes people laugh but also feel.

Q: You've made references to The Grimm Fairytales in your novel, have you read them all and/or Anderson's Fairy Tales? If yes, which was your favourite?

NL: I did read a lot of The Grimm Fairytales when I was a kid. In Germany, children grow up with them. I still have a copy. I always liked “Snow White”, of course and “Cinderella”, “The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids”, “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Rapunzel”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “The Star Money” and “Snow-White and Rose-Red”. These are my personal favourite ones.

Q: Tell us about your journey with publishing The Huntress.

NL: It all started back in August 2012, when I wrote the first lines of The Huntress – The Beginnings, the first book of the series. I published this book in 2013. At first, you’re quite enthusiastic and everything seems to be so easy, but then you face reality. Writing and self-publishing your work is easy compared to promoting it. At least, that’s how I see things. : ) Over the last two years I published four more books in this series and also managed to release an English version of the first part, which was a real emotional roller coaster ride, but I just had to do that. The Huntress is a matter dear to my heart and I cannot give up on her. So, I just keep on working, writing, dreaming and hoping.

Q: Apart from Ada and Father Michael, are there other characters that appear frequently in the next three books?

NL: Yes, there’re a few more characters, which will join the series. I think it would be boring to just have Ada and Michael tell the story. In the first installment “The Beginnings”, Ada says she’s got siblings. So, we will meet one of them. Members of Father Michael’s community will be introduced, which play an important role. And we meet Ada’s and Michael’s child.

Q: How do you deal with negative reviews? Have some of them been helpful?

NL: It’s difficult to deal with them. But when you share your work with others, you have to be prepared for getting bad reviews. Once I got a real negative one and I still haven’t forgotten about it. Though I thought the reviewer’s opinion unfair, I also learned one or two things. Of course, you feel the need to explain yourself, but you shouldn’t. Just accept it and go on. It’s a process you need to learn. But I also think people should pay attention to their choice of words. Freedom of speech is one thing, but to insult somebody is a big NO! People should ask themselves more often: “If I’d be the author and somebody would say this or that about my book, how would I feel?”

Q: You have another book that I think is laying low a bit, Alaspis. Can you give us some info about it?

NL: Yes, that is true. Before The Huntress there was Alaspis. It took about ten years to finish writing the manuscript and to publish it. Why? Well, sometimes I was lacking inspiration and then I feared the end of the writing process, as it meant to say goodbye to the beloved characters. So, I put off the ending again and again.

Alaspis is a fairytale like adventure about a magical flower, which has healing powers. A dark lord longs for it and does all he can to find it. There’s also a brave but young king, who doesn’t want to be one and whose family has been keeping the secret about the flower for centuries. Alaspis is my baby, living a bit in the shadow of The Huntress, but it has a very special place in my heart. It was my first book and laid the foundation for The Huntress.

In the Works

Q: What are your current projects? After four books of The Huntress, is there a fifth one? Are you starting a new series?

NL: Actually, there’s already a fifth book of “The Huntress”. It’s called The Cradle Of The Evil and is the big final chapter. Well, at least for now. I really would like to write a sixth book. I enjoy spending time with Ada and Michael and have the feeling, that there’s still something they want to tell the readers.

I also would like to translate the second book of The Huntress series into English and publish it as a free read online. But that’s all still up in the air.

I’ve also been working on a children’s book with short stories and poems in German. Almost all of them are about values that are important to me such as respect, tolerance, help and hope.

Update:

Nadja Losbohm's German children's book has been published under the title Hamster Stopfdichvoll & seine Freunde .Find it on Amazon.

Q: What genre would you be most interested in experimenting with?

NL: That’s a tough question. I really cannot say. As a child I wanted to become a marine biologist or an archeologist. I never thought I would write fantasy books. Now there’re seven of them. I also never thought I would write a children’s book. That idea just came to me “by accident”. So, who knows what comes to my mind in the future.

Q: Is there anything you'd like to add?

NL: To you, Nada: I’d like to say thank you for all your support, help and encouragement. To be able to work with you was a real pleasure. I’m very thankful to have met you.

To the readers: I thank you for taking the time to read this lovely interview Nada made. I’d like to invite you to visit me on Facebook and Twitter. Let’s find out together where this journey called “writing books” is going to take me but also you.

The English version of The Huntress: The Beginnings is available at $0.99 via Amazon. If you prefer the German version, check out Die Jagerin: Die Anfangen.


Also, find Nadja Losbohm on Goodreads. And check out Nadaness In Motion's book review of The Huntress: The Beginnings.