Interview With Author Helga Warren
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have only written one book so far, about my German father, and it was because I had something important to share. My father was drafted into the German Luftwaffe, was captured on the Normandy coast shortly after D-Day, and was a POW in Aliceville, Alabama. I am currently writing a book about my German mother, who had an equally interesting life. When I’m not writing books about my parents, I am a city tour guide in Washington, DC, a wonderful job.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The title of my book is “The Enchanted Suitcase: A Window Onto My German Father’s World War II Life”, and I was inspired to write it when I found my deceased father’s World War II memoirs in an old suitcase. No one had looked at them in 70 years, not even my mother. First I translated them into English and then an author I know suggested I write a memoir around my father’s memoirs, which I promptly did. It helped that I had plenty of time to write during the Covid pandemic and no tour guide work. I was lucky enough to find a wonderful independent publisher, Black Rose Writing. I highly recommend them!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I always say I think of myself as an author, not a writer, but then I realize that I have been writing extensively my whole life, in three languages (English, German, French), the three langages I also give tours of DC in.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love memoirs and read them almost exclusively, along with psychology non-fiction. I’m not a fan of fiction, because I don’t like to read things that are made up. I wasn’t always like this; I have been a voracious reader my whole life and only fairly recently switched to mostly creative non-fiction. I mostly get my book recommendations from friends or book reviews in the Washington Post and the New York Times, or in passing when a book is mentioned in an article I read in the paper.
What are you working on now?
My mother died in 2021 at almost 100 years old, and left behind a trove of paper, just like my father did. She was a true feminist but never thought of herself that way. She left behind many of her own writings in both English and German and they served as an inspiration to my cousin’s wife in France, who just wrote a book in French about my mother, “Le Siècle d’Irene”. I am now writing my own account, concentrating on the World War II period.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t know that yet, as I am a new author, but I’m sure I’ll find out.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t be afraid to submit to independent publishers. You need an agent for the “Big 5” publishers but not for the indies. Check out the “Big, Big List of Indie Publishers” where I found my publisher. Don’t be afraid to self-publish if you can’t find a publisher. Many people are successful with self-publishing, you just have to educate yourself about the process. Go for it!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Not to worry about what other people think and to observe what’s really going on in every situation. It’s very important to fully live in reality, even if that reality is unpleasant. You have agency in every situation, no matter how bleak, and you always have choices open to you.
What are you reading now?
A book in German called “Stay Away From Gretchen: Eine Unmögliche Liebe” (An Impossible Love) which is fiction (after I said I mostly stay away from fiction)! But it is about the post-World War II period in Germany, written from the German point of view. A book I really loved about this time period (1945-1955), was “Aftermath” by Harald Jähner, translated from German. Again, it told about what life was really like in Germany after the war and how people dealt with the re-entry of former Nazis into society.
What’s next for you as a writer?
My book about my mother, and then I’m probably done. But I like to use actual historical documents in my writing, so you never know when I might make another interesting discovery.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Memoirs I haven’t read yet but want to. They would keep me busy, at least for a while. I never re-read books a second time–I always move on to something new. There are so many books to catch up on and my secret vice is buying books and stockpiling them until I have time to read them.
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