On beginnings, doubts and trust in the story.
Every novel begins with a feeling that is hard to explain. An urge. An image that won’t go away.
For me, it was Jakob at the forge. A young man watching a blacksmith at work. Someone who knows fire and iron, but doesn’t yet know where life will take him.
The first doubt
I hesitated for a long time. A historical novel – isn’t that too ambitious? Too academic? Too far removed from the present day?
Then I realised: it’s not about the past at all. It’s about people living in a time they don’t fully understand. That’s not unique to history. It’s always like that.
Trust in the story
At some point, I had to stop planning and start writing. That’s the hardest part – and the most important. Not knowing where it ends. Just knowing that it goes on.
Jakob taught me: not every step has to be certain. It just has to be taken.
What is happening now
The manuscript is growing. The characters are becoming clearer. Rostock is taking shape. And I realise: this story wanted to be told. I’m just the one who wrote it down.