Yoohoo! A prize for the radio play adaptation of my novel Stella Menzel and the Golden Thread: stories of Old Russia, Berlin in the 1920s, the Jewish family’s escape to America in 1939 and then, lastly, their return to Berlin.

More about the prize: www.mdr.de

Listen to the radio play here: https://www.rbb-online.de

Lizzy is not at all amused. She and her father have just moved far north to her future stepmother’s hotel. It's on a dark and rainy island with little to recommend except a sleepy town and the ruins of an ancient castle. But Lizzy is even less amused by her soon-to-be stepmother. Why is she always finding fault with her? One day, mysterious emails land in Lizzy’s account. Someone knows exactly who she is, what she’s doing  – and even what she’s thinking! Who could it be? Then a young girl called Betty – Lizzy’s exact double! – appears on the scene. There’s no doubt in Lizzy’s mind that something really weird is going on. Lizzy, Betty, and their friend Mack make it their job to unravel the mystery of Ainsley Castle. 

Extract (German-language):   www.book2look.com

Listen to the radio play adaptation of my novel (German-language). In the starring roles: Theresa Zertani (Stella), Leslie Malton (Stella's mother, Isabel) and Yours Truly (Stella's grandmother, Josephine).

https://www.rbb-online.de

In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, two new editions of my novella Wallflower will be hitting the bookstores this month. Enjoy!

Tip: I'm happy to read in your school or library in German, 8th grade and up. A special treat: I read bilingually for 10th graders and up. Try it!

We're making my novel “Stella Menzel and the Golden Thread” (Rowohlt, 2013) into a radio play for Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg and NDR Kultur (co-production). Today was our first day in the studio. Lovely Theresa (left) is Stella; amazing Leslie Malton (right) is her mother, Isabel Zwickel-Menzel (don't you love that name?); and Yours Truly (middle) was cast as Oma Josephine Zwickel. (Me? A grandmother? Yikes!) The photo is a little fuzzy. And do you know why? Director Leonhard Koppelmann's hands were shaky because he just couldn't wait to get a bite of the cake, a surprise from the folks over at the kids program Ohrenbär (rbbKultur). Many thanks to the baker Birgit Patzelt and producer Sonja Kessen. The play will be broadcast Christmas Eve Day on RBB and on the Second Day of Christmas on NDR. After that you can listen to it on the ARD-Mediathek.