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25 May 2024 Yesterday, I attended the very successful Local Author Expo - Burpengary. Look under 'Musings' - 'This and That 2024'. 20 May 2024 Burpengary Library, 121 Station Road, Burpengary, 4505 Next Saturday, 25 May, I’ll be one of 15 authors wooing visitors with my elevator pitch of ‘sepia’ and share my motivation for writing. Audience members will sit in small groups, and authors will rotate amongst the audience in a speed-dating format. What a lot of fun. See you between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm at the Local Author Expo - Burpengary Library. PS Light refreshments will be served. 
9 February 2024 Book Promotion Hints for Emerging Writers published on page 21 of: The Bribie Islander and Districts Community Magazine https://thebribieislander.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/208_BIS_FEB8_2024.pdf  8 February We're proud to promote the growing band of local writers who've published in recent years. We now sell a range of fiction and non-fiction, history and information publications by authors such as Jim Lergessner, W H Kennedy, Alan Carr, Herlinde Cayzer, Bruce Jones, Bev Young, Gary Bell and Ann Jones. Come browse and support these adventurous and interesting creatives. And pick up a beautiful bookmark also on the shelf here.
Past author event indie author mini-festival 25 November 2023  I was privileged to
be part of the Brisbane City Council’s indie author mini-festival at the
generously appointed Wynnum Library on the weekend. The theme centred around
the confusion of independent publishing in its different facets. Two publishers
ran sessions: Hawkeye in the morning and Interactive Publications in the
afternoon.  Ten passionate
authors and I had tables to display our wares, engage with the public and sell
books. We were on stage for the afternoon session when we introduced ourselves,
our writerly output, and our publishing experiences. This was followed by a
lively audience Q&A. Library staff supported us with refreshments. It was an inspiring way to spend a Saturday on the beautiful Bay.  Saturday, 25 November 2023 10 am - 3 pm Indi Author DayWynnum Library 145 Florence StreetWynnum Looking for some inspiration for your next read? Want to start your writing career? Come along to our indie author mini-festival to meet other authors who have taken the independent publishing path. Take part in the Queensland Writers Centre workshop, hear about some great books and discover your next read! 20 November 2023 Interview about sepia 88.3 Southern FM,
The Sounds of the Bayside, with Ambrosia's Leanne Cutler broadcast on Friday, 10/11/2023, 9 am-10 am. L: Welcome to this new edition of Ambrosia. I am Leanne Cutler and you are here for arts, entertainment, fashion and fun. And this week we are having an interesting line up. Author Herlinde Cayzer will join us about her new book called sepia. She covers very eloquently and sensitively an area very little has been written about, I think. L: Welcome back to Ambrosia on Southern FM. You’re with Leanne Cutler and our next guest is a beautiful human and a wonderful writer. Her name is Herlinde Cayzer and she’s on the phone with us right now. Good morning Herlinde. H: Good morning Leanne. L: Now you’ve written this beautifully written book, called sepia. It’s eloquent and it’s gracious and it’s very sensitive to all the issues surrounding it. Tell us what it’s about. H: Basically, it is about an old photograph, a sepia photograph that interweaves the fates of three protagonists. And it starts in Brisbane in 2013 and then goes back in flashbacks to the beginning of the Second World War in Germany and we follow the three protagonists, two of whom will eventually arrive, unbeknownst to each other, in Australia and towards the end of the book, they will meet. L: I have to say it’s a very beautiful ending. And it encapsulates all the grace that’s gone before in the book. It really does. I don’t want give anything away. So these people emigrate to Australia post-war, don’t they? H: Yes, that’s right. L: Yes, do they all live in the immigration facilities? H: No, one is recruited to work in the Snowy Mountains in the 1950s and the other comes later on in the 1960s with her husband and she arrives in Brisbane. L: Ok, they’re really colorful characters. The book has only 213 pages, but you’ve actually managed to build these characters beautifully and tell the story and make the reader really interested in what’s happening to each character. Nothing has been skimped upon and yet it isn’t a long book. H: No. L: How did you do that? H: Well, I guess I wanted to be precise and not too drawn out because I know myself, it needs to be very special book to be very long. L: But it moves along beautifully. The pace is fantastic. And what prompted you to write this book? What was the motivation behind it? H: Well, it’s interesting you should ask. A long time ago. I heard a story about a 13-year-old boy in Germany at a time, towards the end of the war, when boys and old men were recruited to fight for the regime, the Nazi regime, and he was so indoctrinated when the Allied Forces came, he was going to fight them and went towards them. Fortunately, some women dragged him back and fortunately, the English who were arriving must have realised he was just a boy and did not shoot him. They could have easily shot him and that’s what prompted this what-if question in my mind and also, he was totally indoctrinated and I felt, as many people were at that time, that was just the way the regime indoctrinated youngsters and people and the population but what if there was one who could see beyond. So, out of this came the idea to write this story. L: Yes, and I imagine there would have been quite a few people who could see beyond but didn’t say anything for fear of their life and I’m sure at this point in history now there are lots of people in the world like that too. H: Yes, that’s right. L: So it’a a timely book and it helps bring about compassion, I think. H: Yes, that is what I felt too. It is a universal and timeless situation of people. I wanted to point that out and bring that message across. L: Yes, and I think you’re very brave and doing it because some people would be scared of the subject matter. However, it’s done with such grace and beauty and tell me, Herlinde, how long have you been speaking and writing English because it’s beautifully written. How long, because it is your second language, or maybe even your third, I don’t know? How long have you been speaking and writing English? H: Well, I went to university as a mature age student, so I did English Literature and I also got a PhD in German Literature and I guess that sort of fine-tuned and honed my language skills. L: But this is creative writing, not factual writing, so it is amazing, you’ve achieved so much, it’s so impressive and, I’ll explain why I’m going to ask this next question. The area we broadcast to, Hello Bayside, Hello Kingston, Hello beyond, probably has the highest per capita authors in Australia or if anywhere. There are authors everywhere. So I’m going to ask you your process for the book, like did you plan the plot, or the synopsis and then the plot, and then the characters? How did you map it out first before you started writing, or did you? H: Yes, I am a plotter. Some writers just sit down and write and they say the muses descend on them. I sit down and plot. I knew the ending. So I worked towards it. L: Did you then have trouble figuring out how it should begin? H: No, the beginning came reasonably easy too, it was just the sort of in between bits. L: And making it link together, I suppose, is also a trick that you have to learn? H: Yes. L: Oh, incidently. We both studied under the same Professor of Creative Writing, Professor Gary Crew. He is actually an Emeritus Professor now, so much time has lapsed. He said, this is a good story that needs to be told. So you are covering territory that few have trod. H: It would appear so, yes. L: And did you wrestle with the first line I’m always fascinated by first lines because they have to grip you. H: Yes, I made a few changes and finally, I decided to write it as I did, but yes, it was not an instant decision. L: And you had to go back-and-forth in time too because it starts in 2013. And I’ll read the first line for everyone: ‘Sigrid wrestled out of her heavenly hammock and steadied herself. Picking up her book and cup of tea, she cautiously stepped along the pavers surrounding the lap pool and proceeded along the path towards the living room of her cottage.’ Now that paints a pretty middle-class life, doesn’t it? And a lovely one. H: Yes. L: So, it took a long time for her to get to that point though. Didn’t it? H: That’s right. Yes, I felt I portray her as she is today and then flash back to reveal her history and also of course the connection why the photograph touched her every time she looked at it and it had a mystery so that sort of was the leitmotif for the story. L: I have to say, I have to admit, I’ve known you, Herlinde, for a very long time, and we worked together for about almost 4 years, so we were around each other a lot of time, so, we get to learn a lot about each other and I could see parts of you in the female characters. Little things like the dachshund or a dog called Schatzi for instance. I know exactly where those things come from. The love interest towards the end, I know was probably your husband. So, it was a funny way to read a book because I had that other dialogue going on in my head. Going, well she’s picked that bit of her life or this aspect and it was quite funny because we all must do that when we write. We must all pick aspects of our lives and characters we know. H: Yes, that’s right you draw on some of your own experience and research fills in the historical aspect and fact. But then you embellish your story with episodes out of your life or out of other people’s lives that you observe or are fascinated by. L: Yes, you have a couple of pages of bibliography at the back too. What sort of research did you do. Obviously books. Did you go travelling as well? Because this covers a number of countries. H: Yes, we did go to Schwerin and walked the streets to find out what it would have been like during the war and also in Hamburg. I did a lot of research, but also we travelled to some of the places and walked the streets. L: I noticed Wangaratta was mentioned. Did you go to Wangaratta? H: Actually, no, I didn’t. L: Oh, we’ve just been. It’s lovely. In fact, I think we actually had a picnic in the park you mentioned, H: I think that was Google Earth. L: Oh, Isn’t it funny, it might not have been that park, but we did have a picnic in the park in Wangaratta, so there you go. It’s been really interesting and Herlinde, how would you describe the book’s structure. H: Somebody mentioned it’s sort of sliding moments, what-if are sliding moments. After thinking about it, I thought, yes in life there are so many what-if moments. You make a decision, but what if you had taken a different route, how randam everything is, and I guess in a way that is how I wanted the book to be the final, when the two surviving characters meet, of course that was totally random. It was not planned, coincidental, and yet it’s crucial because that gives us the answers to everything. And of course, it also allows redemption for the male character to experience. He was traumatised by the incident of his youth. It weighed heavily on him throughout his life and because he changed his attitude, he learned from that experience and he finally was able to get redemption. L: Yes, and there’s a lot of forgiveness in there too, which is something, I think, people these days need to foster in themselves possibly too. So there’s a lot of wisdom in the book, Herlinde. H: Thank you. L: So Herlinde, please tell us how can people get hold of sepia? H: It is available through all the normal Internet outlets like Amazon, Booktopia, Dymocks. L: All of the good outlets. H: Yes. L: Fantastic. So, Doctor Herlinde Cayzer, thank you so much for joining us on Ambrosia today, and I look forward to interviewing you about the next book. H: I look forward to that too. Thank you very much, Leanne. L: And that’s Ambrosia for this week. 26 October 2023 Geoff spotted this goodreads review. It is so encouraging. Thank you, Kelly. Kelly Lyonns's Reviews Sepia: If
Only He Hadn't. If Only She Had Herlinde
Cayzer’s book Sepia is a story about the sliding door moments that govern our
lives. “If only” moments. The chapters slide effortless backwards and forwards
in time; slowly stitching together the fabric of individual stories between
contemporary Australia and WW2 Germany. 25 March 2023 After all the excitement of sepia’s launch last
year, its journey chronicled on the 'Progress' page, I am settling down
and focusing on the research necessary for my new manuscript. However, I just received an email from my friend K and would
like to end this post with her thoughts which support the intent of what
motivated me to pen this book: 'Congratulations on your wonderful book Herlinde.
I finished Sepia last night…when I started I
couldn’t stop. 16 November 2022 Well, we have returned from the Frankfurter Buchmesse 2022. It was fantastic, to find out more, read my article under Travel.
Frankfurt Book Fair 19 - 23 October 2022  Geoff and I are flying to the Frankfurt Bookfair. We have a stand from where I will be doing three readings during the days when the public are invited. It is all extremely exciting. Would be wonderful, if you could join us. youtube sepia Reading 1 youtube sepia Reading 2 youtube sepia Reading 3 6 September
August & September 2022 Issue #81
Several days after book launch: Michelle Beesley-shesociety article |
Book launch
Herlinde Cayzer released her debut novel
sepia. If only he hadn’t. If only she
had.
‘This is a good story
that needs to be told.’
EMERITUS PROFESSOR
GARY CREW
Spanning
continents and decades the fates of Sigrid, her brother Heinz and his friend
Werner, are interwoven by a sepia photograph.
Indoctrination that results
in fatalities, was as topical during Germany’s Third Reich as in present times.
In a milieu of extremism, adolescent attitudinal differences can arise between
astuteness and compliance. What does it take to achieve redemption when
conformity blinds judgement?
Unbeknown to each other,
Werner and Sigrid adjust to a different pattern of life in Australia. He holds
the key to her puzzle surrounding the faded snapshot.
‘It’s a well-thought-out story with everything coming
full circle with a surprise ending.’
DONNA MUNRO
‘The novel is also a reminder of the power of the
human spirit to overcome trauma of the past, hence moving on to a positive
future.’
EMERITUS PROFESSOR GARY CREW
‘Shifting perspective between the past and present,
the author creates a world filled with surprise, humour, heartache and
ultimately redemption. A thoroughly enjoyable story.’
DR KATALIN GAAL
‘This book lifts the spirit and touches the heart. Keep
the tissues handy.’
LINDA STEWART
Libraries and Bookstores purchase through Ingrams.
Readers can purchase from 30/06/2022 at
Amazon and all good bookstores.
Herlinde Cayzer, debut author and German literature scholar
_______________________
Herlinde Cayzer has a PhD in the Field of German Literature, so it’s only fitting she has written a story with not only an Australian but also a German aspect.
sepia is Herlinde’s debut novel, but she has been blogging and reviewing the arts for many years. Both contemporary and historical events inspired her heartwrenching story.
_______________________
A photograph runs like a leitmotif interweaving the fates of three protagonists over a period of seventy years. Beginning at a time of political extremism, the issue of indoctrination resulting in a fatality in sepia, was as topical during Germany’s Third Reich as in present times. Parallels to Herlinde’s story will surprise readers. The tissue box should be handy for the sadder moments brought about by a war many of the day’s youth did not understand nor willingly participate in.Yet, the human spirit can overcome adversity, attune, and ultimately find redemption.
After the end of the Second World War, the two surviving protagonists migrate down under unbeknown to each other. Humorously peppered confrontations with unfamiliar customs will have readers chuckling with the lively characters. Lingering mystery surrounds the sepia photograph at the core of the story.
_____________________
‘A cautionary tale for today, this beautifully told story of renewal’ (Linda Stewart) ‘needs to be told’ (Emeritus Professor Gary Crew).
Herlinde enjoys regular travel overseas and throughout Australia. You’ll find her blogs and musings at: https://herlindeya.blogspot.com/
Her website dedicated to sepia is: https://authorswebsitz.wixsite.com/herlindecayzer
To contact Herlinde for a media interview or to use this press release:
https://authorswebsitz.wixsite.com/herlindecayzer/contact-8
or email: herlinde.snippets@gmail.com
