A: My father was born in 1939 in a small village northeast of Berlin. He left East Germany in 1961, a few months before the Berlin Wall was built, and settled in West Germany, where he met and married my mother. During vacations, we often visited my grandmother’s farm in East Germany. The farm was simple, but it seemed enchanted to me. I helped milk cows, witnessed the birth of calves, and heard my grandmother laugh at my shrieks when the beheaded chicken raced around the yard before stumbling down. There also was an outhouse, which, to my mother, became the symbol for everything that was wrong with socialism.
The East German authorities didn’t make it easy for us to visit our relatives. They thoroughly scrutinized our car and luggage each time we crossed the border. Once we had arrived at my grandmother’s, we had to register at the county seat, which meant a long wait in front of black-and-white posters that showed us the evils of western imperialism. I remember the stern ladies in East German police uniforms asking us many questions before they reluctantly stamped our papers. In later years, we even had to pay a daily fee for each visit to our relatives. Because the socialist government didn’t spend much money on modernizing the infrastructure of its rural areas, it was common to see bullet holes from World War II battles in the nearby town and to travel on cobblestone streets; my grandmother’s farm remained unchanged as well. I regret now that I never asked her about the events of 1945. She died in October 1989, one month before the Berlin Wall came down.
Q: Your father’s experiences in World War II inspired you to write the novel. What were your father’s impressions of the book?
A: Unfortunately, my father does not speak any English and has not read the book. No German publisher picked it for translation and publication. Maybe one day I will translate it myself.
But during the writing process I interviewed my dad extensively, often over the telephone. It was always very emotional for him to return to that difficult time in his life. Still, I believe he is pleased that I tried to put down a part of his story in a book.
Q: Is writing a part-time or full-time job?
A: Writing is now my full-time job. I try to spend about five hours a day at my desk. But I don’t always put words on paper; some days, I only change a comma or stare out of the window. My favorite part is revising. I enjoy making a draft better and better through the process of revision. I also enjoy visiting schools and talking to young readers. When I am not writing, I tend to a big flower garden. I also love to bake and cook.
Monika Schröder grew up in Germany and lived there for the first thirty years of her life. She studied history at the Ruhr University in Bochum and worked in the German parliament before becoming an elementary-school teacher. She has taught in international schools in Egypt, Chile, and Oman and is currently the elementary-school librarian at the American Embassy School in New Delhi, India. This is her first novel.
boydsmillspress.com
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