
What’s it like to visit historical sites for a story world you’ve only imagined?
The Middle Ages come to life in Arezzo, Italy. ©Jan Decher, 2002 The itinerary included the most important and accessible places in the story: Bologna

The Middle Ages come to life in Arezzo, Italy. ©Jan Decher, 2002 The itinerary included the most important and accessible places in the story: Bologna

Last week, my husband and I visited Marburg, the town where we first met. In 2017, Marburg joined many cities in Germany in a celebration
The International Self-Publishing and Author Programme at the Frankfurt Book Fair was on Saturday, October 17th. Here are five new tools I discovered: (1) BookTrack

Collateral damage: Ruins of the Castle of Are (Ahr) built by Theodorich of Are around 1100 A.D. What would you do if you lost your

What bubbles to the surface? Geothermal activity at Maria Laach caldera in Germany. ©Laurel Decher, 2015. Just finished reading Leigh Bardugo’s RUIN AND RISING, the

What is reading but wandering inside of other people’s magical spells? Join me in this exploration of middle grade books (ages 9 to 12): Magyk by Angie Sage, Flyte by Angie Sage, and Jinx by Sage Blackwood.
Light leaves in a dark forest. Kottenforst, Germany. ©Laurel Decher, 2015. Defense Against the Dark Hot Cocoa This morning the day felt heavy for the
Things you never knew were possible on a bike. @Jan Decher, 2015. What makes us decide to try impossible things? A thing can call to
How is a manuscript like a baby? These baby flamingoes in Weltvogelpark Walsrode don’t look anything like their parents. I’m thinking about the time when

Medieval construction workers building Schloss Horst. ©Laurel Decher, 2015 Over the weekend, I visited a castle, the Schloss Horst Museum in Gelsenkirchen, a printing press,

The magical inscription on this painting reads: “We cannot lay her in the dark earth,” said the dwarfs and so they had a transparent glass
Power from obstacles. ©Laurel Decher, 2015. Have you seen The King’s Speech? The other day, my daughter and I watched THE KING’S SPEECH. I’d seen