Showing posts with label Christoph Fischer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christoph Fischer. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

My Review of Christoph Fischer's Ludwika




It took me a while to digest Christoph Fischer's Ludwika - and to give an "impersonal" review. But isn't why we read certain books to feel, to identify, to learn? And if it's a difficult subject handled well, to remember. 

For me, such is Ludwika, A Polish Woman's Struggle To Survive In Nazi Germany. 

  
WWII and its Civilian Casualties 
Christoph Fischer's LUDWIKA brings back the plight of civilians swept up by WWII, centering on Ludwika's will and tenacity to survive, no matter what she must sacrifice. This book becomes even more personal for those who still remember – or at least, who recall survival stories of their European parents. Those who have never faced an invading army might not easily understand Ludwika’s “pliability,” her willingness to leave her young daughter back in Poland while submitting to a German officer’s romantic promises.
This is a heart-wrenching subject tackled by a talented writer.
I highly recommend Fischer’s novel.

AMAZON-US Ludwika
AMAZON-UK Ludwika
Check out Christoph's informative website:




Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Christoph Fischer Releases New Murder Mystery

Award winning historical and crime fiction novelist

Christoph Fischer 



has written a light-hearted, cozy murder mystery.


Order your Copy of 
The Body in the Snow here:
  

Fading celebrity Bebe Bollinger is on the wrong side of fifty and dreaming of a return to the limelight. When a TV show offers the chance of a comeback, Bebe grabs it with both hands – not even a lazy agent, her embarrassing daughter, irritating neighbors or a catastrophic snowfall will derail her moment of glory. But when a body is found in her sleepy Welsh hamlet, scandal threatens. 
Detective Sergeant Beth Cooper has a string of unsolved cases to her name. Her girlfriend left her and she’s a fish out of water in rural West Wales. Things couldn’t get much worse – until the case of the Body in The Snow lands in her lap. 
Can Beth solve the case and save her career and can Bebe make her comeback?


Read the fascinating back story of
The Body In The Snow
a new Bebe Bollinger Murder Mystery
which is set in Wales, on Christoph Fischer’s Website:

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Christoph Fischer Rocks

 This writer isn't afraid to think (and write) outside the box - 
 or better said, outside his usual genre.


Christoph Fischer tells us about this newest venture:

I’ve recently contributed two short stories to Punk Rocker, the much anticipated sequel to “L.A. Punk Rocker” by top author Brenda Perlin’s best-selling punk anthology.

I'm so proud that my stories have been chosen for this.” LA Punk Rocker” was one of my favourite reading pleasures last year and brought back a lot of livid memories of those exciting times.
Many people were surprised when I told them about my involvement in the new project. You – a punk? Never!  You are always so ‘clean cut’…

Well, maybe now I am (I couldn’t possibly comment). Back then, I was young and rebellious.
Nena for example was part of a New Wave of German artists that changed the music landscape of my youth. Visage, The Clash, The Cure, P.I.L. – they were the air that we breathed.
Outrageous and provocative hair and fashion, uncompromising attitudes and a hunger to live… I’m glad I was able to witness it all, even if I wasn’t the Full Monty…

Punk Rocker is a collection of short stories from those who were there, in the early days of Punk and New Wave. Hard core musical anarchists who saw it all, heard it all, did it all - and survived to tell their stories.

Along with Brenda and the West Coast punks, Punk Rocker features rebels, writers, commentators and street kids from all over America – talking about the music, the fashion, the attitude, the passion, the lifestyle and, of course, the bands who made it all happen.

Meet people who discovered punk’s new dawn – and those who were there for its sunset, in the ramshackle mausoleum of the Chelsea Hotel.
Backstage, in the clubs, in the gigs, in hotel rooms with the band, on the streets –Brenda was there. She saw it all. And so did her friends.
If you want to know how I fit into the picture – I won’t tell you here. Read the book ;-)

PUNK ROCKER has just been released on Amazon
This is an interview with Christoph about Punk Rocker:

How did you get involved in the PUNK ROCKER project?
I’m a huge fan of Brenda Perlin’s writing, and downloaded L.A. Punk Rocker as soon as it was released. The book unexpectedly stirred a lot of forgotten memories and latent emotions in me.
This was still going on when I saw her call for entries to the sequel a few months ago. I couldn’t help myself and composed two stories. I am over the moon that they were selected for the anthology.
Without giving too much away, tell us about your short story for the anthology.
One is about my admiration for punks, rockers and all who dared to be different and speak up. The other one is about a wicked night I had in my student days, also in the company of Punks. They are true stories.

Can you explain what Punk means to you? Do you have any more memories you would like to share with us?
Punk is a lifestyle and an attitude that manifests itself outwardly in fashion and music and inwardly in a powerful mental state against the establishment and outdated conventions. I drifted towards the political end of the spectrum rather the nihilistic one. Every generation needed their rebels and the punks were ours. I loved them.




What are your favorite Punk Acts, Albums and Songs?
The Cure, P.I.L., Billy Idol and – if I may count her in – Cindy Lauper.








Why type of fiction do you normally write? Tell us about the concept behind your books?
I write mostly historical fiction, (sometimes heavy) contemporary dramas and a few thrillers. I’m interested in deeper subjects, such as Alzheimer's, mental health, wars, displacement and identity. 

Tell us about one of your main characters. What makes them special?

Zacharias Nielsen is an 18year old idealist who leaves the safety of his family in Denmark to fight for the radical left in the Finnish Civil War of 1918. He’s special because he leaves material wealth behind to fight for a better future for all, rather than his own betterment.

Who would you cast to play him in a movie? Josh Hutchinson (since Ewan McGregor outgrew the age for the role)
Are you like any of the characters (and how so)?
I’m a bit like all of my characters, I guess. When I try to understand them and their actions, some kind of projection can probably not be helped. Even when they do things I don’t do, they do it like I would be doing it if I did.
What do you do when you don’t write?
Walk my dogs, cycle, do yoga, watch comedy TV and read.
What makes you laugh?
Silly comedy programmes, adolescent humour.
Who would you like to invite for dinner?
Brenda Perlin, Billy Idol and some of the long lost friends from my stories.
What would your friends say are your best and your oddest quality?
Best: Thoughtfulness.
Oddest: My taste in music.
What would you chose as those qualities?
Best: Loyalty
Oddest: My sleeping pattern
Who are your favourite authors?
Lionel Shriver, Christos Tsiolkas, Khaled Hosseini, Brett Easton Ellis, Paulette Mahurin, P.C. Zick, Murielle Cyr, Brenda Perlin, John Dolan, Tony Gilbert, Ian Hutson, Richard Yates, Anne Tyler…
What is your favourite book?
Shantaram

What book are you currently reading and in what format (e-book/paperback/hardcover)?
“Lights of Polaris” by Melodie Ramone – e-book. It‘s brilliant!
What are you working on now? 
I’m working on a silly murder mystery set in the UK countryside. I’m also involved in a charity project for a No-Kill Shelter: The Santa Paula Animal Rescue Centre.
My novel: “African August” will be part of a box set in aid of the shelter. The story revolves around a young banker and his adventures in Uganda. It is based on some of my travel experiences on the continent.
CHRISTOPH FISCHER - Short Biography:
Christoph Fischer was born in Germany, near the Austrian border, as the son of a Sudeten-German father and a Bavarian mother. Not a full local in the eyes and ears of his peers he developed an ambiguous sense of belonging and home in Bavaria. He moved to Hamburg in pursuit of his studies and to lead a life of literary indulgence. After a few years he moved on to the UK where he now lives in a small town in West Wales. He and his partner have three Labradoodles to complete their family.
Christoph worked for the British Film Institute, in Libraries, Museums and for an airline. The Luck of The Weissensteiners was published in November 2012; Sebastian in May 2013 and The Black Eagle Inn in October 2013 – which completes his Three Nations Trilogy.
Time to Let Go, his first contemporary work was published in May 2014, and Conditions, another contemporary novel, in October 2014. The sequel Conditioned was published in October 2015. His medical thriller The Healer was released in January 2015 and his second thriller The Gamblers in June 2015.
He published two more historical novels In Search of a Revolution in March 2015 and Ludwika in December 2015.
Christoph has written several other novels which are in the later stages of editing and finalisation.
* * *
Thank you, Christoph, for this great interview and for giving us a glimpse into your next project; or should I say, projects. Since I have known you (originally as a long-suffering reviewer of my own books) you have come out swinging - and winning - establishing yourself as a prolific writer of historical fiction (when you are not punk rocking).

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Christoph Fischer delves into Another War

A New Novel from Christoph Fischer

Ludwika:
A Polish Woman’s Struggle To Survive In Nazi Germany

now available for pre-order
and will be released on Dec 14th

It’s World War II and Ludwika Gierz, a young Polish woman, is forced to leave her family and go to Nazi Germany to work for an SS officer. There, she must walk a tightrope, learning to live as a second-class citizen in a world where one wrong word could spell disaster and every day could be her last. Based on real events, this is a story of hope amid despair, of love amid loss . . . ultimately, it’s one woman’s story of survival.

Available Now in Print Format at the CreateSpace eStore: 
https://www.createspace.com/5897536

Reblogged from Mr. Fischer's own blog - writerchristophfischer
Read the fascinating background for this story in his own words.



Thursday, September 17, 2015

Christoph Fischer's New Book

COVER REVEAL
 of
CHRISTOPH FISCHER’S
UP-COMING BOOK
CONDITIONED

the sequel to
CONDITIONS

OUT ON OCT 16TH



CONDITIONED dives back into the world of gardener Charles, his friends and the state of his mental health – one year on. We meet loner Simon and his battle with the outside world, co-dependent Martha and her abusive husband Clive, neurotic poet Catherine on the verge of getting married, Tony, who finds his strange brother Charles a challenge, psychic Elaine looking for a new direction in life and quirky widow Sarah Roseberg who has a go at sorting out all of their problems.

CONDITIONS (Book 1) aimed to sensitise readers and make them think about tolerance and acceptance. CONDITIONED (Book 2) wants readers to look beyond their attitude towards Conditions and examine what we all do and what we can do to overcome our challenges. The sequel is another snapshot of this circle of friends. Some will have improved their lives, others will not.


Read more on Christoph Fischer’s own Blog: https://writerchristophfischer.wordpress.com/

Monday, August 3, 2015

Christoph Fischer has a Condition - And it's Electrifying

My Review of Christoph Fischer's


Conditions


     Only too often, readers seem to insist on a neat package to put a book to rest. Give them murder, car chases, gun fights, and sickly-sweet endings. Then they can forget the name of the author, forget the title…they’re done. Next!
Luckily, there are writers who won’t let us off the hook so easily. I have followed Christoph Fischer’s writing for some time now, so I am already a fan. But with Conditions, he truly challenged me. It wasn’t a question of IF I would like it, but what did it bring out in me.
     Granted, not much seems to happen on the surface. The fascination with the story are the subtleties about the interactions between Charles’s diverse friends, all with their own quirks, their own problems, but most importantly their own support of a friend who tries as best he can with a “condition.”
     The writing, while subtle, brings out intense conflicts among them. The book, like life itself, doesn’t end in a neat package. Instead, to me, it made me wrangle with the one overwhelming condition that wove Charles’s friends together: Empathy.
     It made me wonder: Would I have it in me to be such a supportive friend to someone with a “condition”? I am ashamed to admit: I am not sure. The question haunts me.
     With me, Christoph Fischer achieved his goal: he made me think real hard about Conditions.