Let’s see how best to start this post.
It is, in a way, intended to (partially) answer the question when my next book is being published.
Well, my friends, life happens …………..
If you followed my posts on this site, you know that we have a small ranch in northern California and besides our variety of animals and pets, we also have two studio apartments. They are clean, carpeted, one room units with a studio kitchen and a bathroom. Not much to write home about. In order to offer a small convenience to our tenants, we also provide a washer in a separate room.
That was a mistake, a major one as it turned out.
To put it as simple as possible: One of our tenants, an otherwise nice lady, must have read something about unlimited opportunities in the free enterprise system. She opened up a laundry service for her friends and strangers. One sunny morning I walked out of the door and could not help noticing freshly laundered underwear and linens fluttering in the breeze.
After a polite knock on door of my tenant I was unable to enter the room. There were bundles of unwashed laundry stacked up on top of each other wherever I looked.
“Excuse me?”
The nice lady smiled at me: “Well, I don’t have the money to pay next months rent and…… I know that you need it and want it……. and I had the idea of making some extra cash by washing my friends clothing.” Another smile.
What do you do? I mean I left Germany because of the American free enterprise system. Now where do I go? It was not funny. It cost me four weeks and a professional eviction service to get the lady to move. The electric bill alone exceeded the monthly rent and I had the septic tank overflowing.
In the end she had some furniture which she had to place in storage but no money to do so. In order to get her out I offered to pay for the storage unit with the result that she asked me if I could prepay for two months. I did. My wife said: “Anything to make her go away” was fine with her.
So, yes, I am writing to get the next book published before the end of April, but honestly, it might be a little later because this was not the only delay in my schedule.
In the meantime, please stick with me.
Horst
I have had some landlord (strange word) problems myself so I can empathize with you. I only hope that you will be able to publish soon and definitely. Thank you for your writing skill and the story you are telling. Suzanne Fralic
Hello Suzanne.
Yes, it is a strange word. Almost impossible to translate into German.
And, the experiences? As you indicated and therefore know, they almost warrant a book in themselves.
And, yes, again, I am almost done with “Partners to a degree”.
Sorry that it took me this long.
For your info: It will not end with a cliffhanger. Promise.
However, I plan to write several books about Harold’s life and experiences.
Each book will stand on his own and I hope that they will be sufficiently interesting
to keep you entertained.
Thank you very much for your comment, Suzanne, I will do my best to live up to your expectations.
Take good care,
Horst
Thank you for your book, ‘Children to a degree’. I cannot count the number of books I have read over the years written by those who lived through it but I don’t think any other author has made it as clear as you have. You made me feel like I was there. My pain is great and my heart aches but we can not shed enough tears to change the past. Help us to know what is going on in the world so that it will never happen again.
Thank you again for answering my questions in this book and I look forward to reading the other books in this series.
Hello Linda,
Thank you very, very much for reading my books and for your pertinent comments.
You stated that I made you feel like you were there. If I truly achieved this …..then I am glad, because this was my
intend. I wanted to share a bit of history which we certainly need to remember, but which is forgotten in our fast moving times.
When I think back and try to frame difficult times into words of understanding I can’t help and wonder if I am succeeding.
So, you can readily see, Linda, that your response is very helpful and I thank you for taking the time to post your thoughts.
Take good care Linda, and enjoy today.
Horst
Thank you so much for writing this series. I am sure that it was difficult and heart-wrenching to relive that time in your life. I am German but was naturalized as an American when I was young and adopted. My German grandmother could not talk about her experiences during the war. Your books have helped me to understand her better. I look forward to reading more.
Hello Susi,
Thank you very much for your very kind comments. You are right, it was kind of difficult to write about these times. I found that it is much easier to talk about memories than to write about them. In many instances I had to tone my story down so as not to offend certain mindsets of today. I can most certainly understand your grandma’s reluctance to talk about her war experiences and I am happy to read that you credit my books for understanding her better. Thanks, again, Susi, for reading my story and I hope that you will find my following books, about Harold, just as interesting. Should you ever have a particular question about these times just let me know. I’ll be happy to answer.
All the best to you.
Horst
Dear Herr Christian,
My wife and I only discovered your series about Karl and Harold a few weeks ago; since then we have been reading them non-stop in the order: Children to a Degree, Loyal to a Degree, Trust to a Degree, and Partners to a Degree. My wife, Lynn, who started ahead of me, has only a few dozen pages left in Partners to a Degree, while I am a bit past halfway through Loyalty to a Degree.
Lynn dreads the time when she will have nothing further of yours to read, and implores me to write and ask if, hopefully, you have anything else in the works for publication.
I was born exactly one month to the day after Britain declared war on Hitler for the invasion of Poland, so all of my earliest memories are of my parents reading and discussing Mein Kampf, of war maps spread on the dining room table, and of Sunday afternoon reports on the radio regarding the progress of the war, in which several of my wife’s and my older cousins fought. My parents befriended a number of German refugees (DPs) in the years following the war, but your books have still provided us with a perspective that we never had before.
Please let us and your other readers know if you are planning any further publications (and when we can expect them); if not, thank you and God bless you for the gift of the experiences that you have shared.
Very sincerely,
Alfred Wild
Hello Alfred,
Thank you very much for your interest in my books.
Yes, I am presently writing about my friend Harold and his experiences under the tutelage of the Soviet Kommissar Godunov.
Actually, this book should have been published by now and I am running low on excuses. But, the fact remains that I am way way behind my original schedule. Your comment tells me to step up my writing and I hope to have the book about Harold published before the end of this year.
In addition to Harold’s book I also started a book about Karl’s years until he entered the USA. The most interesting part might be the “culture shock” experiences.
Even today, 60 years after my immigration, I still marvel about them and about my past attitudes and in a certain way I enjoy writing about them.
Thank you, Alfred, for taking the time to comment and should you have any pertinent questions about the forgotten times, please, do not hesitate and ask. I promise that I will answer.
All the best to you and to Lynn,
Horst
I have read all four of your books, and I have thoroughly loved each one of them. I was born years after the war , but had relatives ( American ) that served in our military. They never talked about it much. Only to tell us , how blessed we are that we have not had to go through the horror of war. I would like to thank you for sharing ” Karl and Harold” with us.
As a teenager I had the honor to meet a sweet German lady (Frauen} , she was a wonderful person, she has passed in the last few years, but I really thought a lot of her. She too, grew up during the war.” Her daughter and I were friends in school.
Looking forward to the next book . I am trying to read a book by “Alison Owings” it is about German Women,that recall living during “The Third Reich”. Name of the book is “Frauen. A good book, but it is not near as good as what I have learned through you and Harold !!! Can not wait for next book .. Thank you so much .
God Bless you
Hi Jean,
Thank you very much for your kind and thoughtful words.
Your comments answer my questions and doubts as a writer, if I am ever be able to convey the tragic events to a modern reader.
You know Jean, writing about times which are now seventy years past, is a pretty solitary activity and I constantly ask myself if anyone, out there, will ever read what I am trying to recall.
Thank you for your interest and for taking the time to write down your comments. They give me the fuel to keep on writing.
Wishing you all the best,
Horst