— Hello, Laura! Russian readers know you by Splitter aus Silber und Eis, but we know very little about you. Tell us a bit about yourselves, please. Where did you study? Who do you work for?
— Hello everyone! Besides writing I also work as a freelance media designer.
I studied media design at a college in my hometown, worked a few years at a company, but eventually realized that was not really for me. So I moved to Düsseldorf, where I studied Modern Japan and Media Science at the university while also getting serious about writing books. Then I changed to a different university for a master’s degree in Culture, Aesthetic and Media. I love how much I learned from all the different experiences!
— Do you remember your very first story? Was it published?
— I started with writing a few fanfictions that I never finished. My first original and finished story was a short story about Greek mythology that I would like to develop into a book or series someday.
— What is the most interesting part about writing for you? And what’s the most difficult one?
— I LOVE the way a new idea grows and develops, researching topics and connecting small ideas, when characters come to live and that feeling when everything falls into place. The most difficult thing is probably showing others what I have written for the first time, that takes quite a bit of courage for me. And I am horrible at sticking to the predefined page count.
— Did you study creative writing or did you improve your writing skills by learning from your own mistakes?
— I considered studying creative writing – but missed the deadline for the application. Which is typical for me. So I have no formal education, but learned by writing and reading. And I am still learning! For example, I follow many writing accounts on Instagram and always look for things I can improve. I also analyze everything I read, try to understand why I love certain elements and what I would change about the aspects I don’t like.
— Could you please tell how did the idea of Splitter aus Silber und Eis come to you? Do you like fairies and that’s why you decided to add them to the plot of your book?
— I wanted to write a book about my favourite season and create a world with the magic and beauty of winter. Fairies just felt like a natural match, I did not really consider other beings. And lastly even though I adore princesses that rebel against their royal life, I wanted to create a princess that actually would love to take on her responsibilities as a future queen but is not able to.
— How long did it take to write this book? Were there any problems along the way?
— I think the writing part alone took about half a year, maybe a bit less? But in addition there is the development of the idea and plot as well as my revision, beta readers and the editing with the publisher. Of course there were problems! Mostly small ones, like scenes I was not satisfied with and parts about the story that did not work out. One pretty big problem was that I wrote SO many more pages than what was set in the contract. My publisher was generous enough to raise the page count, but I still had to cut about a hundred pages. That was horrible!
— Since Splitter aus Silber und Eis is a book about magic and fairies, could you tell which books about fairies did you read, and which one of those did you like? Did you read Sarah Maas and Holly Black books?
— I actually don’t read that many books anymore, because every time I read, I think that I should write instead. :D But I did read Tithe from Holly Black a few years ago, which felt so different to any book I read before. I loved the Cruel Prince and want to read the second book soon! I also read the first three books of A Court Of Thorns And Roses and loved the writing style and ideas. But since I am not that big a fan of the soulmate trope, especially when every single character seems to find that one perfect match, that aspect dulled my experience a little bit.
— Since nowadays many writers try to promote their own books, I can’t omit the question about your experience. Do you like interacting with book bloggers and have social media presence?
— It makes me extremely happy to interact with book bloggers - but also regular readers! Honestly, their feedback is what keeps me writing. I receive incredibly kind messages and reviews, and every single one moves me very much. Also their constructive criticism helped me learn a lot. Working with bloggers is great, I always create book boxes for them and am so thankful for their work and contribution! I am mostly active on Instagram.
— Currently stories about fairies are very popular in Russia. Is there the same trend with young adult books in Germany right now?
— Cruel Prince and A Court of Thorns and Roses are pretty big in Germany too! But I also feel like stories about fairies have been around and liked for many years, just not as huge as right now.
— Splitter aus Silber und Eis is a single book. Have you ever had a thought of writing a sequel?
— I really, really wanted to write a sequel, because I have so many more ideas for the characters and the world. But sadly it was not possible due to circumstances of my publisher. However I realized how much I want to write series, especially with fantasy worlds like the one in Splitter, and my next two projects are a dilogy and a trilogy!
— What were your sources of inspiration when you were writing Splitter aus Silber und Eis?
— Quite a few readers correctly guess The Snowqueen from Hans Christian Andersen! Even though I did not have Beauty and The Beast in mind, there are also thematic similarities, so I probably subconsciously got inspiration there too. Other than that, I get find most of my inspiration from Pinterest, from researching new topics, things I see in nature, music and so on – small things that ignite a new idea.
— I am always very curious about how writers name their characters. Was it difficult to come up with the names for Veris, Nevan? Were there any other names on the table, or perhaps a different name for the book? (if I spelled the names wrong, please pardon me – and please correct me :)
— I came up with their names pretty quickly. To differentiate the human and the winter realm, I often used Latin words for the humans and Irish and Scandinavian words for the the winter realm, as well as invented words that match the feeling I wanted to portray. Veris means spring in Latin and Nevan is an Irish name meaning holy/saint. My working title for the book was “The Prince of Winter” and before we settle on “Shards of Silver and Ice” the first version was “Shards of Silver and Snow”. The final title is my favorite!
— I noticed all chapters are named after certain flowers. To be honest, I saw some of the names for the very first time in my life in your book. Can you tell why you chose the names of the flowers for the names of the chapters?
— They are small reminders of Veris roots in the Realm of Spring. But also, if you read carefully, every flower is mentioned IN the chapter, mostly very subtle. So they serve as a reminder that color, warmth, prettiness and blooming can be part of winter.
— You dedicated your books to your parents. Could you tell if they supported you in your aspiration to become a writer? Do they read your books?
— They absolutely support me! When I was a child and teenager my mum always declared that she gladly pays for the books I want to read. When I told my dad I would like to be a writer one day, he, who never sugar-coats anything, told me how little authors earn per book, so that I know how things work. That helped me a lot connecting my dreams and reality! Several years later, when I declared I wanted to seriously try writing as a job, they were nothing but supportive and never told me that would be impossible.
— Russian edition of Splitter aus Silber und Eis does not have a map, but since the characters travel a lot, I was wondering if there is a may in a German addition? If there is one, could you tell a bit about the process of its creation?
— Yes, there is a map in the German edition that I drew myself! I do many creative things like drawing, and I always love maps in fantasy books, so I wanted to try drawing one myself. Since it was the first map I drew it took quite a while of trial and error. I learned a lot from Youtube videos about cartography. My publisher liked it, so it was put in the front of the print. I think I’ll upload the map onto my website lauracardea.de, maybe even translate it, so Russian readers can look at it too!
— In your thank you words you talked about a girl named Mini without whom this book would not have existed. Could you tell a bit more about her? How did she help you with writing this story?
— Mini is my girlfriend for over 10 years and she was always absolutely convinced I can write books professionally, even when I was still doubting myself. She told me many times how special she thinks the way I describe things is. And she motivated me to submit my story to the writing contest where I won my first publication in 2018. Every time she told me I would definitely be in the Top 3 I thought she was just saying that to make me feel good, but she was sincere. Since then she supports my writing every day and especially when a deadline closes in she does everything she can to ensure I have the most time possible for writing.
— You also thank your readers Janina Roesberg and Franziska Koschke who read your book and helped to edit the errors. Was it interesting working with them? How did you meet them?
— I asked on Instagram if anyone was interested in beta reading my first novel and those two helped me with all my books since then! Their input is SO valuable to me and there are both amazing at editing. It is always interesting to know how others understand my writing. By now I am actually very close friends with Janina and we share so many similarities we sometimes joke that we are twins separated at birth. :D
— I am also very curious about Kathi K. who you also mentioned. What role did she play in the process of writing the book?
— Kathi is a friend I know since Kindergarden, so more than 25 years. We live in different cities by now and are not as close anymore, but it is always very interesting to talk to her since she studied archaeology. She helped me with the portrayal of riding, since I have absolutely no clue about horses. And I am sure with future books she would help me with historical and archaeological topics anytime!
— You also told about your friend Kate Jans, who you met at the writing courses? Is she also a writer? How did you two become friends?
— I actually met Kate at the writing contest. She won second place and published her first book together with me. I thought that she was nice but that from all the finalists I had the least in common with her. I could not have been more wrong! We started talking on WhatsApp about our experiences with publishing our first book and I realized how amazing she is and how easily I can talk with her (which is often difficult for me). We exchange SO many voice messages, I can always count on her for advice and it is just great to know someone that understands all the things you go through as a writer. I always tried not to judge people based on first impressions but getting to know her was a really striking reminder of that!
— The covers of the book are beautiful. Can you tell more about the history of their creation? Since you studies media design, did you yourself participate in the creation of it?
— I love the cover too! Being a media designer is often more hindering because I already have pretty specific images in my head that often differ from what my publisher thinks will work. There actually was a different cover design before the final one. When I received it, I tried to like it, but it just did not feel like my story. I voiced my concerns to my editor and she was very understanding and actually commissioned a second design. That does not happen often and I am still glad they changed the cover, because now it is perfect and was received so well by most readers!
— What do we not know about the characters Splitter aus Silber und Eis? Could you share a couple of secret facts?
— Well, these would be part of the sequel I had planned, so they might be spoilers for those that have not read the book yet: Nevan and Veris postpone their marriage because of a new threat. A character that was assumed to be dead is not. Veris will never kill another person. And Nevan might be more than just Fae.
— I know you have another books, Mel - Wächterin der Dämonen, Falsche Wahrheit. Can you tell a bit more about it?
— Mel is my first published book and a urban fantasy story. Mel inherits the mansion of her grandmother – who is still very much alive. She has to take care of the house and its residents - who are ghosts, demons and other beings. She learns that she is a kind of guarding to the demons that make her life difficult. Especially one of the supernatural beings called Juri. But he also fascinates her very much…
Falsche Wahrheit (False Truth) is a dystopia about a society divided into “Superiors” with special abilities and “Inferiors” who are sick and powerless. The young journalist Margo has to hide that she is neither a Superior nor an Inferior. On the surface, these groups seem to be equal in the perfect, fair world, but when Margo’s best friend disappears, she slowly uncovers the truth.
— Usually, we only see one side of an author’s story: it’s a success, published book, beautiful covers, translation and film adaptations. But this success does not always come right away. Could you tell what difficulties and challenges you had to face before your books started to get published?
— I wrote for over ten years before my first book got published. And I wasn’t able to finish my stories for most of those years, because I lacked the knowledge, organization, motivation, time and confidence. Also after school I took quite some time to find out what I wanted to do with my life and working in a regular job made me so unhappy I did not write at all for quite some time.
— In Russia, published writers collaborate with publishers and usually are quite involved in advertising their own books. Could you tell how are these things like in Germany? For example, when creating covers, does your opinion matter?
— At least most of the writers I have contact with do a lot of marketing themselves in addition to the marketing of the publishers, like Instagram and organizing reading rounds. In my experience the publishers try to consider the writers opinion on things like covers, but its more important that the cover works for the target group. But that differs from publisher to publisher I think!
— When I was preparing for this interview, I found your youtube channel with lots of very interesting videos. Could you tell how did you come up with an idea of creating it?
— I created that channel quite some time ago, when I already knew I did not want to work for a company the rest of my life, but did not yet know what I want to do instead. I tried quite a few things, that YouTube channel among other things. But I never really found that one overarching theme for my channel, that’s why the topics always change and I stopped doing new videos. Maybe somewhen in the future I’ll start again with a focus on writing.
— I know you worked with out book box service Hooked on Books. Could you tell what was it like when you got a proposal to have a book box made for your story? Did you like that experience? Did you get a sample box yourself?
— I was contacted when Hooked on Books already decided to make a book box about my story. I assume they arranged everything with the Russian publisher, which only makes sense. But they asked if I would like to write a letter to the readers, which I gladly did! I was super excited and happy about the book box, especially because I love the concept of the goodies matching specific text passages! They did send me a box, that the German post took ages delivering, but it finally arrived and will take my time to open and enjoy it!
— Do you have any writing fears? If so, how do you handle them? Do you ever have a thought of quitting writing?
— I often take negative criticism to heart way too much. I try not to and rationally know that every book gets good and bad reviews, but still. I can get ten great and one bad review and yet my thoughts linger on the bad one. It helps to know other writers feel the same (and that probably most people tend to focus too much on the negative). And I always try to separate the criticism into subjective opinions and things I actually want to improve. For example, many reviews thought I did a good job with packing a whole fantasy world with many characters in a single volume, some thought the book was really dragged out and others wished it had a hundred pages more. How could I make all these people happy? I simply can’t, so I there is no reason to feel sad. Until now I never thought of quitting and I hope that will never be the case!
—What are your hobbies besides writing?
— I love creative things and try new stuff all the time. Drawing, cartography, interior design, gaming, cooking, learning new things are some of the things I like to do.
— You live in Germany, and as a foreigner, I am very curious to know about your favorites places in your city and in the country. What are tourist must-sees in Germany?
— I think Berlin and Hamburg are great cities to visit. But there are also many beautiful old towns and villages that feel magical. Actually, there are many German cities and sights I have not seen yet but would love to, like Schloss Neuschwanstein and the Rakotzbrücke.
— Your favorite German food?
— I am not that big on traditional German food, maybe because many include meat and I am vegan. Also I feel like German food is very influenced by neighboring countries and differs from place to place, so I could actually not name that many traditional German dishes. But I do love Maultaschen (a kind of dumpling), Spätzle (a kind of noodle), Currywurst (sausage with tomato sauce and curry powder) and pastry like Franzbrötchen and cakes.
— Your favorite movies?
— I watch more series than movies and do not really have favorite movies that come to my mind instantly. Is it okay to mention my favorite shows instead? That would be Avatar the Last Airbender and Community, which I watch every year. Oh, and I am a big fan of the Marvel movies and shows!
— Your favorite bands?
— I also don’t really have favorite bands (anymore). I like a lot of different genres and artists, but mostly listen to music while writing and have specific playlists for different moods, that include movie and game soundtracks, fantasy music, classical music and acoustic versions.
— Can you advise your favorite books that are worth reading?
— My favorite book is the Six of Crows dilogy by Leigh Bardugo. And before that for many years the City of Bones series was my favorite. I also loved Hunger Games and the Ruby Red Trilogy by German author Kerstin Gier.
— How do you feel about bloggers who are telling about your books and tag you in their reviews?
— I am super happy about that! It is amazing to see how many people read my books and take the time to review them and take pictures. And I believe book bloggers play a really big role in the success of a book. They do amazing work!
— What do you think about a competitiveness in the writing world? Do you have friends among other writers?
— I have found great friends through writing and personally experienced more support than competitiveness. Most of us probably know that books are not like cars where you only buy one for several years. People can read several books per month, so in the end working together with other authors is more beneficial than competing. Yet sometimes I DO envy other writers and their success, but that is more a feeling of them being role models for me.
— Would you like to visit Russia?
— I love traveling to other countries and feel like Russia has many different, beautiful sides. I would like to explore those one day, when possible!
— How do your friends and family feel about your writing? Do they read your books? May be even give you some advice when you need it?
— They support me very much and often ask about my writing, projects and other news! Some read my books, some buy them to support me without actually reading them. I sometimes get advice, but more from friends and acquaintances that also write.
— Do you have people who inspire you or whose life and creative works you admire?
— Oh, too many to mention them all! I especially admire German authors that opened up the German publishing world for German writers. I feel like a few years ago there were just a handful German writers, but that changed so much! Now at bookstores I see books from German authors all the time.
— Finally, can you give an advice to aspiring writers?
— It sounds so simple and unoriginal, but: Just write.
You only get better by writing as much as you can, everything else comes with time. And do not compare yourself with others too much – rather try to understand how they manage to make your heart beat, to make you laugh or make you unable to stop reading and learn from that.
Thank you Laura, for this interesting conversation!