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