Release Day! Finally… If you’re an
author, you know how exciting this day is, and just a little scary, because now
the story is out there, anyone can read it, anyone can have their say. The
characters are no longer yours, they the reader’s, and they have to
stand on their own.
Today I get to release
my fifth novel and since all my books are very different from each other,
Willem of the Tafel, my attempt at writing Science-Fiction, is making me very
nervous. I’ve always struggled with genres, the best way to define me would be “defiant”, but
given that my heroes are gay, I’ve found a home in that snug little corner of
literature. And people have been nice, even though my stories rarely stack up
to your typical gay romance novel, not even Jonathan’s Hope.
My post here today is
also my chance to meet readers who will be heading to Munich and Euro Pride
Con, in just six weeks. So thanks to RJ,
Marc and the rest of the organizers for putting up this amazing event on European
soil, and thanks for allowing me the opportunity to present myself to those of
you who haven’t heard of me yet. Strangely, I hear there are still pockets of
humanity who haven’t heard of me…
Let’s remedy that, shall we?
I’ve been writing
for the longest time, but have only began to publish fiction two years ago with
Jonathan’s Hope, my opus 2, being the first of my novels to be released in July
2013. Since then I’ve released a total of five novels, I’ve been in a
couple on anthologies and I put out a free e-book on my husband and my journey
to parenthood. Plus I blog regularly, so I’m frequently
found with blisters on my finger tips.
I’m living the
dream of playing author, with an enormously supportive husband who keeps
pushing me (and paying for it) and a son who keeps me firmly grounded in reality.
I couldn’t be luckier, even though I’m not quite the bestseller, yet. Writing for
me is really truly a passion, and given that I write an average of fifteen to
twenty thousand words a week, you can safely assume I don’t have much of a
choice. Sure, there are weeks when my pen rests, vacations are such examples,
when I enjoy just being with my family, dangling my soul and resting. Once I’m on a
roll though, I freak out when the clock ticks six pm and the family comes home
expecting dinner (and I’m still sitting with my breakfast plate next to my laptop.) Luckily, I’m also
pretty good at kitchen wizardry and usually manage to smoothen things over
without anyone noticing that it wasn’t quite ‘planned for’… (Hope hubby
doesn’t read this.)
Six more weeks until we
all meet in Munich, this year’s first convention for me. I haven’t been to
the Bavarian capital since 2012. I used to work there regularly, so it’s going
to be a welcome return, and I can’t wait to have my “Weisswurst” for
breakfast (you’ll see) and plenty of decent Weissbeer (they like it white in Bavaria
for some reason.) But I’m also
looking to meet new colleagues, along some old friends and hopefully lots and
lots of readers. I just had a discussion with a reader today, about her
reaction to a scene in Willem, how she was prepared for what was to come, yet
still started sobbing as the emotions took over. For me, tears are the highest
form of praise. Not to mention therapeutic.
Release day it is, and
now the characters are all yours. As an author I outline an imaginary world for
you, and I set you off to wander about, but it is how your color it in your
mind that determines how you’ll like the story. It is how you interact with
the characters that will influence your impression of the story. Today, I
humbly turn Willem, Hery, Stéphane, Magda, Bongani, Nosizwe and the others
over to you. Be gentle, okay?
I look forward to
meeting you in Munich, to exchange hugs (if that floats your boat), to chat
about your impressions of this future world, and to discuss just how probable
it is (or not.) Willem of the Tafel invites you to look at a potential future
for humanity, and narrates an epic tale of survival, second chances, hope & undying love.
Welcome to my world,
Hans M Hirschi
Willem of the Tafel is available from my
website, my
publisher, Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, iTunes, ARE, as well as select book stores.
