ABOUT ME.

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RANDOM FACTS

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I'm Andrea. And I write.

There isn't really anything more to know about me, but there are so many more words that I would like to share with you. About me too. And if that weren't the case, the second sentence wouldn't be true.

I write.

I've been writing down the thoughts that go through my head on a piece of paper my whole life. First with a pen, then with a typewriter, and eventually I got the computer keyboard, which opened up a whole new world to me (with the delete key and the ability to save documents). And yes, I'm old enough to have grown up in my parents' home without a computer. 😅

MY DREAM WORLD

And that is exactly why you are here in my dream world. Not because of age. No, of course not. This is my dream world because I knew as a child that I wanted to be a writer. I dreamed about it and unfortunately I never believed that my dreams would come true. Until, yes, until other dreams came true. And until I realized that these dreams were still not what I really wanted.

Writing a book is on many bucket lists. I don't have one, although I love lists and will probably make one very soon. But I always knew that one day I would (not want to, could, no WOULD) write a book. And I would have known that for quite a while longer if I hadn't stumbled upon Stephen King's On Writing. Written by an author I've admired since I was ten years old, and who had a huge influence on my desire to be a writer myself, this book didn't reach me until 17 years after it was published.

1,000 WORDS

And it changed my life. King says that if you want to write a book, sit down every day and write 1,000 words. Then you will reach your goal. And that's what I did. I don't know if I would have been able to take this path in 2000, when the first edition of the book was published. I was 17 at the time, had dropped out of school, given up my circle of friends and moved to the Baltic Sea to do an apprenticeship in a profession I would never work in.

But seventeen years and numerous experiences later, and with the certainty that I can achieve the things I set out to do, there could have been no more fitting and no better words to finally convince me to write down the stories that moved me.

And so I did it. One hour a day. Sometimes it was 1,500 words, sometimes only 300. I set my alarm for five in the morning so I could get up before my four-year-old. I devoured books, podcasts and YouTube videos. I learned how to avoid filler words and that in German you don't use apostrophes when you want to express that something belongs to someone. 🙈

FICTIONAL DREAM WORLDS

And so the dream world that I had created for myself as a child became a real world in which I can create more dream worlds myself. I can send characters on journeys, give them happy and sad moments and in which I can always learn something about myself.

I love writing. So much that I finally feel like I've arrived. For the first time in my very unsettled educational and professional life, I can imagine staying here. Although that's somehow the wrong way to put it. I can imagine continuing on this path for a long time. Developing myself along it, learning new things and discovering the many branches that seem to lead away from it. Ultimately, for me, writing is not just a path, but something much bigger. And that's why a branch only opens up an even bigger picture, one that's individual for each and every one of us authors, and I'm excited to see how my picture will develop over the years.

I'm excited about the moment when I'll look back and hope so much that I can say: "Yes. That's exactly how it was good."

THANKS

And I thank you for accompanying me on this journey. Maybe because you read my books. Maybe because we are in contact through my newsletter. Maybe because you also write and we got to know each other through words. For me it is a great gift to get to know the people who share my love of books and stories. And I am happy that this gives me so many reasons to be grateful every day.