Category Archives: Writing

These are posts where I share myself as a writer.

Countdown to the first book in series “A Life Upside Down” – coming within the next 10 weeks

November 24, 2015Books I write, Writingvica

My editor is half-way through the second book I am self-publishing. This will be the first book in a series. The series name is “A Life Upside Down”, and the first book is “A Spy’s Daughter”.

When I asked the editor, how the edit was progressing, he gave me very uplifting feedback about my writing and the story, and said, “Go ahead, tell your friends.”

So this is what I am doing today. Letting you know that it is coming soon. Like with the first book, I am not sure how much time exactly it will take me to get it out into the world. But ten weeks will definitely be sufficient.

I have a hidden hope that I will manage to publish it before Christmas. But … psst, don’t tell anyone … and you also should forget I told you that. If it works out, then it will be my Christmas surprise for you. 🙂

The prequel, I mentioned several times before, will come out next year. I will include its description and one for the second book in the series at the end of the first book.

See below a short description of “A Spy’s Daughter” and a small excerpt from a chapter toward the end of the book (Note: it hasn’t seen its final edit yet).

Description:

Hannah doesn’t have a husband or a boyfriend. She doesn’t have a mother either. Her mother died long ago. But Hannah still thinks of herself as a happy person. Mostly due to her family — her father, sister and her two uncles — who love and support her. And because she has an exciting job, with great colleagues. Which is not that common in the post-Soviet Moldova. Soon their lab will have a state-of-the-art high-resolution microscope to take their research to a new level.

And she, Hannah (who thinks her name is Victoria) must go to collect this microscope from Germany. All she needs is a visa. Which could be a challenge. But she has prepared all the necessary documents to convince the authorities to issue one to her.

The day before her appointment at the German embassy, she finds out that she won’t have any issues with a travel visa, because she doesn’t need one. To her utter surprise, Hannah learns from her father that she has dual citizenship, Moldovan and American. And more surprising still is one tiny additional detail he now reveals about her mother.

That she had been an American spy.

Excerpt:

When did the destiny decide to blow her life into a suspense thriller?

All that chase and trouble was just to build a trap for her. But not because she was special or dangerous, simply because she was a spy’s daughter.

In this moment, she heard her mother’s words, which she told Hannah when a boy at school claimed that Hannah snitched her friends to the teachers. “Even a foul’s game is just a game,” she said. “Take a step back, look at it and change the rules.”

An unexpected wave of warmth washed over Hannah as she recalled her mother’s voice, which she thought she had forgotten. “Change the rules and make it your game.”

Hannah didn’t know how to play this game, which she knew was dangerous. She didn’t know yet how to make it her game. But she realized that she knew exactly what her next move should be.

Picture: An airplane above Aalborg.

“Nothing is As it Seems” Chapter 6

November 19, 2015Books I write, Free books and stories, Writing, Writing exercisesvica

“Dying?” Elizabeth looked at the small girl upstairs, then at Alice standing next to her.

Alice opened her mouth.

“Yes,” the bell-like voice said from the balcony above, not allowing Alice to say a word. “All who come here come whether to die soon or to get a better diagnosis.”

“You mean—?”

“Yes.” the corkscrew spiralled locks swung on the round head shining like a light bulb. “Just like me! I had brain tumour and now I am cured. So, I can leave. Now I stay a few days to prepare my room for another girl with cancer. But Grannie Sissy wasn’t so lucky.”

Was she talking about the woman, who was carried out two days before? So she was d—

“Lily, honey.” Alice fixed the girl with her gaze. Then she turned to Elizabeth. “Um …”

“Oh, I’m Elizabeth. My father used to call me Liza.”

Alice nodded. “Liza is new here, so we better take it slow.”

“Ah.” A knowing look shot from above. “Then she needs a hope chocolate.”

Elizabeth smiled. “I love hot chocolate.”

Lily hopped down the stairs and laughed. “Not hot chocolate. Well, it is hot. But it’s a special hope hot chocolate. You only can get it here.”

“Kitchen is over here,” Alice held her arm pointing into the hall leading into the left wing of the house.

Hm, thought Liza. Wasn’t the kitchen to the right when she was here last? When was the last time she was here?

They entered a large square room, the edges of which were smoothened by a large round table in the middle and the furniture arranged into a dashed bows around the table, hiding the corners of the room behind it.

A middle-aged woman with a face so much like Alice’s sat at the table and fed an old man with a pinkish mash.

“Mum, here’s someone who wants to talk to Patrick,” said Alice and unveiled the obvious relationship with the woman at the table.

The woman smiled, nodded to Elizabeth and turned back to the man she was feeding.

The man seemed to be very old, with several bushes of grey and white, straight and unwilling hair looking in all directions. He ignored Elizabeth and instead fixed his gaze on Alice’s mother. He smiled too. But the look was not of a friend. It was rather of a young man thinking what would be his next move to seduce the woman in front of him.

Lily hopped onto the chair next to the man. “Steve, now we have one more pretty girl in the house.” She turned to Elizabeth. “Steve is flirting with everyone here. Even with me! And I am not even ten.” Lily giggled.

“He avoids flirting with Patrick though.” Alice’s mother winked at Steve who put his right hand on his forehead raising his look to the ceiling, sighed and returned to his previous position hypnotizing Alice’s mother.

“Leeza,” said Lily. “You should sit here next to me. Alice will make hope chocolate for us.”

“Isn’t this the task of all healthy people in the house?” Alice grinned and headed to the counter behind her mother.

“Oh yes, I forgot!” Lily jumped onto her feet and grabbed Elizabeth’s arm. “What’s your favourite colour?”

“Um, red.”

“Oh, yes, we have red mugs.” Lily hopped with three steps to Alice’s side, took out a red and a green mugs out of the drawer in front of them and put them on the counter. With a small jump she landed behind Alice’s mother and wrapped her arms around the woman’s neck. “Ingrid, would you like some hope hot chocolate too?” Lily threw a sheepish look at Elizabeth.

Ingrid gently pressed one of Lily’s arms with her left ear. “Yes, sweetie, I’d love one. And make one for Steve too. But not so hot.” She winked at Steve again, whose grin widened.

The conversation stopped. It was replaced with kettle whistling, cocoa spoons counting, tea-spoons clinking on the mugs walls, wiping of Steve’s mouth and brining his bowl to the sink. Alice, Ingrid and Lily seemed to follow an unknown choreography, where they moved alongside each other, switching places at the stove, sink and counter-tops without much looking at and without disturbing each other. This dance accompanied with kitchen appliances music mesmerized not only Steve but Elizabeth too.

Mugs with steaming, thick liquid, warming the air with its sweet aroma, were set along the table’s circle, and a large plate with biscuits got its place in the centre. Lily, Ingrid and Alice took their places at the table, the latter leaving a large gap not quite filled out by the three empty chairs on Elizabeth’s left.

“Liza. Is it short for Elizabeth?” Ingrid asked as she held Steve’s mug to his lips. Steve sipped slowly, with his left eye squinted and the right one peering at Ingrid. He seemed oblivious of all the other present in the room.

Elizabeth nodded. “Yes, my father was from Ukraine and he shortened it in a way he knew from his youth.”

“I thought it was strange how you said it,” Lily chimed in. “Leeza.” She giggled.

“So, how do you know Patrick?”

“Mum,” Alice put a hand on her mother’s arm. “Liza doesn’t know Patrick, or about this house … and what we do here.”

“Oh. I thought we were famous.”

“I don’t think Liza is from here.”

Ingrid sat straight in her chair. “Now this is intriguing. Where are you from?”

Picture: The beautiful path I take everyday on the way to my daughter’s nursery.

P.S. Chapter 7 will be written and posted in two weeks time.

P.P.S. You can find the complete story written so far at the page “Free Online Books”.

P.P.P.S. If you think you have friends who could like this story, feel free to forward it to them.

Mid-month news: November 2015

November 18, 2015Newslettersvica

First month of the new business

Fun, scary, unforgettable experience.

I’ve learned a lot in this time. And of course I am still learning.

I discovered the hidden for me clichés from the cultures I’ve been raised and being exposed too.

I thought that I wouldn’t be able to find work as a business owner and a freelancer, if I haven’t applied for the smallest possible and least payable jobs. This does sound strange. But the phrase, “You have to start at the very beginning and work your way up.” did mean for me exactly this. I thought that I all I’ve learned and experienced before didn’t matter and I had to do everything from the very beginning.

But then, when I shared my experiences on various platforms, I noticed growing interest in what I can offer. They didn’t want me to type their hand-written notes, they wanted to hear about my experience as a writer of fiction based on a true story, they wanted to learn S1000D from me, they wanted to learn and hear more from me on business rules.

And they told me that I drew them into these topics, that they were glad to have met/discovered me, that they wanted to work with me on common projects and that they were ready to pay me for my work.

That was quite a revelation. It was an epiphany that I can earn money by doing what I love. And by discovering more and more things, which I fall in love with doing.

Of course, the in-security is there. Whether I am able to earn enough money for living with what I have to offer. But what helps is to realize that this in-security might have some value, if I notice and don’t judge it. In such a case it can show me that it is time to be active and do something.

I am very grateful to have discovered the brilliance of moment of now and the value of true listening. Listening to what other have to say, without judging what and how the say it, and without judging my inner reactions to these, helped me stop complaining (especially in my thoughts) and come up with some great ideas, and take concrete steps to bring them into life.

Through listening and seeing what people value and want, I discovered that both money and the sense of well-being, being centred, come when I concentrate and put my energy to bring value to others. When I turn the focus off from me and get interested in what is important for people around me, then everything else falls in place.

Listening and reading inspiring articles in this direction helped a lot as well.

“Shift your focus away from what you want (a billion dollars) and get deeply, intensely curious about what the world wants and needs.” Justine Musk on Quora

Words like this helped me turn my focus to what really matters in the world and matters to me. My worries don’t really matter to me. The well-being of others does. This was an interesting discovery.

Right now as I write this article I realize that this direction is completely in sync with the mission and vision I have defined for my business.

This is what have driven me in the last two weeks and brought most results in my business. And the most satisfaction.

Here is what this means concretely.

Consulting

I have developed several interactive courses, which would help professionals succeed in there endeavours.

Here they are:

Teaching/Coaching/Training

Two training courses this week.

One is introduction to S1000D. Experimenting to perform this course in a short time, and in a highly interactive way, was extremely fun and resulted in further collaboration with the customer.

The second course this week is course on “Creative Nonfiction and Fiction Based on True Stories”. I do it for the South Gate Society School of Creative Writing in Aalborg. I research and learn on these topics, discovering many exciting things about myself, the cultures I grew up in, and the culture I am fortunate to experience now.

Writing

It’s amazing how many exciting projects appear as soon as I stop worrying what to write next and just concentrate on what is needed and wanted by others.

There are quite a few works in progress.

My second book “A Spy’s Daughter” is with my editor and will come later this week. I am very excited to discover the editing results and see how it will shape the book.

The prequel the series “A Life Upside Down” (”A Spy’s Daughter” is the 1st book in the series) is ready written and typed and enjoys its well-earned 2 weeks break until I will self edit. The title is also to 99% decided. Here I reveal it. It will be named “Seven Broken Pieces” and will be a short story or novelette consisting of 7 chapters.

I had an idea that I would never write non-fiction. Now I write two books in non-fiction and just started the third one.

One of them is on Business Rules and making them understandable for everyone who might need to define them. I post on this topic every week and at the beginning of the next year, this material will be compiled into a book, edited and published.

The second is to inspire writers and give them a clue how they can discover pearls in their writing. We are all too critical about what we do, but all of us create brilliant things, which we often chose to avoid looking at. But these wonderful things are cherished by others and by appreciating them, we can create more wonderful and valuable treasures. The working title of this one is “Let me be your cheerleader”. The subtitle is still in work. The idea for this book was inspired by my personal cheerleader and dear friend Marcy, who discovered me through this blog and who became one of my dearest friends. She saw me through the writing of my first book and also reads most of my writing as I create it. This book is to give this gift further and also to help Marcy and me realize a big wish of ours, to meet one day in person.

And the third one, some words of introduction of which I have written just this morning, has a working title “Everywhere at Home” and will be a collection of memoir essays about me being in various parts the world at various times of growing up and being adult, and what experiences I made.

I am very excited to discover what the next month will bring and I will share it with you.

Thank you for reading this. Have a wonderful end of the Fall and a beautiful winter start.

Picture: November bloom in our garden.

Wishes and preferences

November 9, 2015A mother's diary, Contemplations, Writingvica

Last Saturday, I had my own personal epiphany about wishes and preferences.

When I am at my low, as it was past Saturday morning, then I happen to have an idea that none of my wishes come true.

But this is of course not true at all. Now, that I think of it, many of my wishes I had so far did come true. Especially big ones, like having a family. We did wait (and fret) six years (especially the last several of those) for our first child to be born. Then Niklas was born.

Yes, my wishes do come true. Although not often according to my preferences.

Um, if I am honest, never according to my preferences. This is, I guess, the nature of preferences. They are too multiple to fit them all. Something is always amiss, according to my brain. And probably to yours as well.

Let me illustrate a few of my wishes.

My husband’s and my second biggest dream was to own a house. But when I became pregnant with Niklas we said, “No, not with the first child in my belly and not right after his birth. That would be too much.”

So, a few years after his birth and no other child coming (we thought, “That was it, one time wonder.”) we bought a place for our house to stay on.

And about a month or even less after signing the contract of land purchase, yes, you guessed it correctly, I found out that I was pregnant for the second time.

Technically, our second big wish came exactly as we wished. To buy and build a house but not around our first child’s birth. We didn’t make any exact wishes about the time for our second child to be born.

Next wish. Early last year I kept thinking, “That would be really great to write during daytime and not only in the evenings.”

And there I was, I could write during the daytime. With my work contract about to finish and a fast growing belly, but I had a month or two before my maternity leave on which I could write during the daytime. Again, not as my preferences would be, but still, the wish came true.

During the last year I got more and more curious about being an author entrepreneur. First, I thought, “I’ll be a full time writer and own a writing business when I retire.” Then I changed my mind. “No, I want it to happen earlier, but when my books are doing better and we paid off the mortgage.”

And guess what happened. You probably know if you follow this blog. The life was again full of surprises. Being an author entrepreneur and freelancer seems like the best solution in the current circumstances. In order for us to earn enough for living, I needed to jump into quite cold water. This new and unknown for me waters are somewhat freezing, but I must admit, the work I do now as a writer and freelancer, writing on one side and figuring out what is my next move on another, is fun.

Then this past Saturday I have received another illustration of wishes versus preferences.

As I said above, I was on one of my lows. Physically because of a not so pleasant cold (right after reading what it means for a freelancer to be ill and that you can’t just stay in bed if you have a headache and a badly sore throat). And psychologically, because there is always this financial pressure and as a newly baked freelancer I am simply fretting about the money, especially when such a low comes.

Plus on this morning my son Niklas refused to help me to put on breakfast table. He wanted to watch his favourite films on YouTube.

“Nothing unusual here,” you might say. We all know such reactions, also from our own childhoods.

But somehow, on that morning, I exploded. I got angry and told Niklas so. And the fact that I got angry put me further down still. For me this was a certificate of my failure. Not only my business doesn’t run as I would prefer, and I don’t manage the household as I should (according to my slightly unrealistic standards), my child doesn’t listen to me, and I can’t keep my tempter at bay!

So, when Niklas finally showed up at the kitchen table, I had my face in my hands and I cried. The chair opposite of mine screeched the floor and I looked up. Niklas looked surprised. Then he smiled and gave a little giggle. He seemed not to know what to do in such a situation.

“Oh, mouse,” I sniffed. “You don’t know how it looks when Mama cries.” I wiped my tears away with my fingers. “I simply have a feeling that nothing is working.” I gave out a big sigh.

“Me too!” Niklas smiled and loudly breathed in an out. “I also think that nothing is working.”

My thought generation machine spitted out into my consciousness, “Oh great! I wanted him to say ‘Everything will be OK.’ And what does he do instead?”

But there was something in Niklas that made me listen to him attentively. His smile. Pure, childish and honest.

What he said right after, simply made my day. Without blink of an eye, Niklas kept his gaze into my eyes and said, “I want to be agreeable with you, Mama. Always!”

And that was when I had this epiphany about wishes and preferences. I realized that I always wanted to be supported in my ideas. This is what my son did, right then. He said, that he supports me and agrees with me.

He couldn’t have known that I said something I didn’t mean. I never made it clear to him, which of my ideas I wanted to be supported and which not.

The fact is, my son supported me and wanted to stay supportive. “Always” as he proudly said.

His face and this light bulb realization made me understand that wishes do come true and quite often.

Even if they don’t come true exactly as preferred, and even if there is always something still to wish for.

Well, then there is always room for another wish.

And there is always a way for it to come true.

Isn’t it wonderful to know, that as for anything else, this world is endless, including our ability to wish and realize those wishes?

Picture: Niklas and one of his fulfilled wishes, the day when he was officially named a Ninja in his favourite toy store in Aalborg.

“Nothing is As it Seems” Chapter 5

November 3, 2015Books I write, Free books and stories, Writing, Writing exercisesvica

Elizabeth hid behind the giant tree she surprised herself climbing up two days ago.

Now think. Think! How shall I get in there unnoticed?

She heard a door opening and peeked out of her hiding place.

The angry man, who’d sent her away, went down the stairs and disappeared around the corner. He made a lot of noise with what must have been a very old and screechy door.

Then he appeared again, with a bicycle.

Elizabeth bypassed her gladness about him living. If he was taking a bike, he would be back any moment.

As soon as he was out of site, she stepped out of her hiding space.

She needed to work out something fast, otherwise she would never get inside.

Elizabeth crossed the narrow road and stepped onto the broad brick way leading to the house.

She was stopped by the house door opening. Alice went out and froze. She gazed at Elizabeth. A large flower pot in her hands.

“Oh, let me help you with this.” Elizabeth hurried up the eleven steps with almost unexpected easiness, and supported the pot Alice was holding.

“Thanks.” Alice woke up from her surprised stare and tilted her head to point where she wanted to put the pot. To her right.

As they both unbent their backs, Elizabeth rushed to say. “Alice.” She stopped, suddenly conscious that she revealed herself sneaking after her first visit, then said, “Sorry, I overheard your name the other day. May I talk to you? May I … maybe … come in?”

“Um.” Alice took a long moment to gaze into Elizabeth’s eyes. This felt both confusing and comforting. Then she nodded. “Yes, you may come in. But you better talk to Patrick when he comes back. Not to me.”

Elizabeth frowned. Patrick? Was this the man’s name? Did she hear it before?

She was interrupted by the floorboards squeaking below Alice’s feet. Alice held the door open for Elizabeth.

They entered a large entrance hall with a wide staircase winding from the right side to the upper left corner of the hall. Elizabeth followed the stairs with her gaze and saw the balconies of two more floors arching above the opposite side of the hall.

A small head with short and densely packed brown curls appeared above the white plastered baluster of the first floor, topped with dark wooden railing.

Elizabeth recognized the girl she saw running out of a car into Alice’s arms two days before.

“Hi,” said Elizabeth with a wave to her.

“Hi,” said the girl. She looked at Alice. “You told me another girl was coming to take my room. But she is not a girl.” Then she turned her head to Elizabeth, her curls dancing in all directions on top of her head. “Are you also dying?”

Picture: Looking up helps discovering the sky and its limitlessness anew. This time through branches of a Rowan tree.

P.S. Chapter 6 will be written and posted in two weeks time.

P.P.S. You can find the complete story written so far at the page “Free Online Books”.

P.P.P.S. If you think you have　friends who could like this story, feel free to forward it to them.