D is for Daylight

Berlin is at 52 degrees north latitude. That's just 14 degrees south of the Arctic Circle. And it means that we go from 7 hours, 39 minutes of daylight on winter solstice to 16 hours, 50 minutes on summer solstice.

Over the course of six months, we gain over 9 hours of daylight.

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 This time of year is the best: we gain four minutes a day. So by this time next week, the day will be half an hour longer. It happens so fast, it's noticeable. Almost as if we can watch the world wake from its winter slumber.

What's your favorite thing about spring?

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C is for Chris Barton (Marketing Monday)

For those of you who are new here (welcome!), I periodically run a Marketing Monday feature. Most of these are "case studies" of authors and what they (and their publishers) have done to market their books. If you're interested, you can see the others here. Today's installment is a little different.

When I contacted Chris Barton (author of The Day-Glo Brothers, Shark vs. Train, and the soon-to-be-released Can I See Your I.D.?), he replied that he didn't have time to write up a post. But, gracious Texan that he is, he didn't leave me empty-handed.

Last August, Chris did a Writer's League of Texas panel on book marketing. And it's all available on YouTube. So here is a ton of great information from a group of publishers: what they do and what you as an author can expect to do to market your book.

It's a 12-part series; if you're interested in the rest, go here for part 4.

If you are a published author and you would like to share your experiences with marketing and promoting your book(s), I'd love to share your story! Please contact me at anpstevens [at] gmail [dot] com. 

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B is for Berlin

For nearly five years, I have made my home in Berlin. It's a vibrant city and I love it here. A few of my favorite things:

The Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburger Tor)

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The Berliner Dom

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Buddy Bears

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The Berlinale

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There are lots of others, but they don't all start with B.

What do you like best about your city?

(Yesterday's Fact or Fiction? Fact. I think. I heard the account from a trusted source, but when I did some research to add some realism, I couldn't find anything about alligators caching.)

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A is for Alligator (Fact or Fiction Friday)

Today's the start of the A to Z Challenge! And yes, as little time as I seem to have, I'm jumping into the fray. 


The stench hit first; the rot of decaying flesh filled her nostrils, snapping her out of unconsciousness. She tried to move, lifting a hand in the darkness to find slime coating the walls that surrounded her. The air was dank and oppressive, filling her lungs with a physical presence her body tried to reject.

Coughing, she rolled onto her side and nearly passed out from the pain. Testing with her left hand, she felt the break in her upper right arm, the lower piece of bone jutting forward. She couldn't remember how it had happened.

How had she gotten here? She tried to remember as she sat up and clawed at the muck with her good hand. She had leaned down to collect a sample of water from a pool in the swamp... There was a big splash and then...  Nothing. It was blank.

She got her feet beneath her, slipped, and slid onto her hip. Her arm hit the wall and a wave of pain washed over her.

She fought back panic as she tried again, holding a tree root with her good hand for balance. For some reason, she knew she had to get out quickly. Had an overpowering feeling that something was coming back for her.

Her movements opened the mat of vegetation that covered the hole, and cool air rushed over her. She gulped the fresh air and tried not to gag as the breeze shifted and the stench rose again. She had to get out.

Using her left hand, she reached as far above her as she could, grabbed hold of a low-hanging cypress branch, and scrabbled up the slick walls. The lure of fresh air and the threat of something she couldn't quite recall drove her on. After several minutes of struggling, she lay on the spongy surface, staring up at the distant sky.

And then she heard it, the deep staccato of an alligator call, and it all came rushing back, filling her body with a surge of adrenaline like an electric shock. She had leaned down to collect the sample and the splash... the splash was an alligator. It had grabbed her arm and pulled her under water, rolling over and over to kill her. But somehow she had not only survived the death roll, she had been cached for later. Mating season. That was the only explanation.

A tail hit the water nearby and the woman struggled to her feet. She had to get out before the alligator returned.


What do you think? Fact or Fiction?
Last week: Fact. (down to the three-story drop, bounce, and run)

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