Germany So Far
Writing from Germany - it's been pretty whirlwind so far, and wonderful. I didn't sleep on the plane, so was fairly wobbly when I arrived in Frankfurt. That was unfortunate, because a Munich newspaper specifically wanted a picture of me at the airport... so they got it, complete with red-rimmed eyes and crazy-hair. :)
The first event I did was in Hamburg, and it was great. All the people there were readers (and I saw an "old friend" as well). Nina Petrie, the actress who played Jutta Hansen in "Run Lola Run", did an amazing reading, and there were a lot of great questions from the audience. Ulrike Sarkany was the host and did an excellent job.
The next morning we drove to Dortmund, and that evening I did the event at Unna. It was really something. There were approximately 200 people there, and my heart was pounding in my chest as we took the stage. When I did my reading, I'm pretty sure my face was beet red due to the stage fright. Sigh. What can I say? To borrow from McCoy, "I'm a writer, not an actor, damn it!" :) Actress Sabine Postel did a moving reading (I couldn't understand the words, but I could feel the rhythm, and the audience was rapt.) Angela Spizig, the Deputy Mayor for Culture in Koln, was the host. I met her on my last trip to Germany and she's really a great host. She has a true love of literature and art in all forms, and I was appreciative that she was willing to travel to Unna to do it. The signing after was humbling. So many people. I'm still of the mind that I don't deserve to have all those strangers come up and want my signature on something. Quite surreal (though I'm not complaining!) I have to say, I was thankful to have someone there spelling out those German names for me. :)
Now I'm back in Koln (sorry, no umlaut on this keyboard), typing this at the Savoy hotel. I have a radio interview in about twenty minutes, and then an event this evening in Dusseldorf. After that, it's off to Munich on Friday, which is supposed to be another big one (sold out, can't get my wits wrapped around that), so I'll start taking deep, calming breaths this evening.
I finish in Leipzig at the book fair, which I'm very much looking forward to.
P.S: as I typed the words above, a knock came at my hotel door. It was a member of the hotel staff, with a plate of grapes, strawberries, and tangerines. "This is a gift from the hotel to you, sir," she said. See? Germany's awesome! :)
The first event I did was in Hamburg, and it was great. All the people there were readers (and I saw an "old friend" as well). Nina Petrie, the actress who played Jutta Hansen in "Run Lola Run", did an amazing reading, and there were a lot of great questions from the audience. Ulrike Sarkany was the host and did an excellent job.
The next morning we drove to Dortmund, and that evening I did the event at Unna. It was really something. There were approximately 200 people there, and my heart was pounding in my chest as we took the stage. When I did my reading, I'm pretty sure my face was beet red due to the stage fright. Sigh. What can I say? To borrow from McCoy, "I'm a writer, not an actor, damn it!" :) Actress Sabine Postel did a moving reading (I couldn't understand the words, but I could feel the rhythm, and the audience was rapt.) Angela Spizig, the Deputy Mayor for Culture in Koln, was the host. I met her on my last trip to Germany and she's really a great host. She has a true love of literature and art in all forms, and I was appreciative that she was willing to travel to Unna to do it. The signing after was humbling. So many people. I'm still of the mind that I don't deserve to have all those strangers come up and want my signature on something. Quite surreal (though I'm not complaining!) I have to say, I was thankful to have someone there spelling out those German names for me. :)
Now I'm back in Koln (sorry, no umlaut on this keyboard), typing this at the Savoy hotel. I have a radio interview in about twenty minutes, and then an event this evening in Dusseldorf. After that, it's off to Munich on Friday, which is supposed to be another big one (sold out, can't get my wits wrapped around that), so I'll start taking deep, calming breaths this evening.
I finish in Leipzig at the book fair, which I'm very much looking forward to.
P.S: as I typed the words above, a knock came at my hotel door. It was a member of the hotel staff, with a plate of grapes, strawberries, and tangerines. "This is a gift from the hotel to you, sir," she said. See? Germany's awesome! :)
posted by Cody McFadyen at
6:13 AM
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