How would you describe yourself?
Author, Mother, Manager, Teacher, Head Chef, Trouble-Shooter, Problem Solver, Timekeeper, Skier, Runner, Yogi, Violinist, Reader, Listener, Simplifier, Mediator, Negotiator, Artist, Dreamer, Sun Lover, Walker-in-the-woods, Lounger-on-the-beach.
 
What is your favourite pastime?
Well, that really depends…. sometimes I feel like lying on my lounger and reading a book and sometimes I want to go for a run. Sometimes I want to create art and sometimes I want to immerse myself in a nice hot bubble bath. But very often I just want to sit with a cup of coffee and chat with my children, their friends and my own friends.
 
Why do you write for children?
As a mother of four, I have spent a lot of time reading children’s books – and there were so many I absolutely loved! I wanted to contribute to this world and create something which children would enjoy. I really wanted to write stories that children can see themselves in and that are meaningful for their own journeys through childhood.
 
Where do you live?
Now I live just outside Berlin, which is the capital of Germany. Before that I lived in Saudi Arabia and before that I lived in the UK. In between all this, I lived in The Netherlands for a couple of years. I grew up in Germany, so coming back after spending nearly my entire adult life in other countries was both awesome and a little scary.
 
Have you always been writing books?
No, not at all. I’ve always wanted to write books, but somehow, life just got in the way of actually doing it. I used to work in big – and sometimes smaller – corporations. I have a degree in International Business Management, and I have worked in HR for most of my working life. HR stands for Human Resources and its’s the part of a company which looks after all the employees.
I also used to work as a violin teacher for a few years – it was an incredible journey to watch my little (and not so little) students progress from absolute beginners to accomplished musicians.
 
What’s your favourite animal?
I love most animals – although I´m not too keen on spiders and insects. I know they are super important for our ecosystem, but I just find them a bit creepy. My favourite animals in the whole world are my dogs. Tala is my Northern Inuit Dog. She looks and sometimes acts just like a wolf. I also have a little Terrier-Mix. Her name is Tinkerbell and she is horrendously annoying because she thinks she’s in charge and we all know that’s not true. But I still love her, too!