I first met Robert Stermscheg a year ago on the Amazon forums where we chatted about various topics which were related to my debut novel, Ask Me if I'm Happy. Robert shared his review of Ask Me... a short while later. Recently, he contacted me to let me know that his latest work was about to be released, and he happily agreed to do an interview about his work.

This is what he had to say:

Q. I believe this is your third translation project. Can you briefly describe the process of not only translating a work into English, but taking a story written in the 19th century and bringing it to today's reader? 

A: Process is aptly put. First, you need to have an understanding of the time period. In my case, 19th century France and Germany. Second, as a translator, I have to be aware of old expressions that Karl May employed; idioms, as it were, from his time (1880s), that not only stemmed from German tradition and folklore but also presented a challenge in conveying them into modern English. That was perhaps the most difficult. I chose to retain them, as they added ‘colour’, and provided explanation notes at the end.  Also, the German language is structured quite differently from English. Karl May often employed long paragraphs and run-on sentences that had to be broken up and reworked into a more coherent format. That was certainly time consuming.

Q. Why did you choose Karl May as an author to translate and share with North American readers?               

A: Easy. I “grew up” with Karl May. As a boy, I was naturally drawn to his thrilling stories, many taking place in North America, often in the “Wild West”. They depicted the Indian tribes as noble savages, clearly the victims of the “White Man’s” insatiable thirst for land. As much as I enjoyed stories about cowboys and Indians, I also delved into his other works, some of which took place in the old Ottoman Empire, dealing with conflict between the French and the Germans. Although I also read Edgar Rice Burroughs and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I seemed to gravitate back to Karl May. I suppose I was attracted to his keen sense of adventure, portrayal of humanity, and his rendering of history through his novels.

Q. Now that you've translated several Karl May books, will you continue with this author or are there other authors that you want to translate?              

A: Actually, I’ve completed three translations, which have been published thus far. The fourth book, POW #74324, is my father’s memoir and deals with his experiences during WWII and then post-war Yugoslavia. I’ve committed myself to doing the Hussar’s Love series, spanning five novels. I may do more in the future, but I also want to expand my writing in other areas, exploring other interests such as historical fiction from the WWII era.

Q. We’ve all fielded unique, if not awkward questions from customers. Can you recall one that stood out? 

A: Sure. One actually dealt with the process of translation. One woman was quite surprised to hear that it took me the better part of nine (9) months to translate my first manuscript of roughly 150,000 words. Looking somewhat sheepish, she had assumed I had used a computer program, like the ones found on Wikipedia. I smiled, explaining that, as a translator, you have to capture the small nuances, the ‘flavor’ of the manuscript and adapt the work to the spirit and flow of the original. No program will do that.

Q. No doubt you've grown a great deal as a writer through this process. Can you share what you've learned, and has this helped you to develop your style and honed your craft?                

A: That is an understatement. If truth be known, I can honestly say that I had no idea what I was getting into (laughs). In my former career as a police officer, I naturally wrote a great deal. However, much of it was very structured and concise, leaving little room to express my thoughts outside the confines of the police report.  The funniest thing about writing, and writing to be published is that everything takes on a new importance. All of a sudden you’re forced to pay attention to previously overlooked things like spelling, syntax, and of course grammar. In short, I took the whole thing more seriously and endeavoured to put out the best effort that I could. Secondly, I started paying a lot more attention to other writers: how they developed their storyline, pacing, character development, even the use of dialogue.  I wasn’t shy about getting advice from other writers, and willingly applied many of their suggestions.  Becoming a writer is the start to the learning process.

Q. Has this experience influenced you to venture away from translation and into writing a novel of a different genre?                 

A: My initial drive was to translate this series so that family and friends could appreciate the works of Karl May. But as so often happens, (perhaps it was just me) we get inundated with all sorts of ideas. I’ve actually had people come up to me at book signings and comment on their bizarre ideas, and one lady in particular told me I needed to, no, I had to, write a certain story (laughs). During the process, I did however have inspiration to write my father’s memoir. He was a WWII veteran, and this was quite the departure from writing fiction. So, yes, it did inspire me to venture into other areas, including writing short stories for magazine publication. I’m currently working on a WWII thriller, entitled Stealth. It deals with an experimental jet fighter the Nazis were developing. The novel delves into human conflict, pitting a few ‘good’ Germans against Hermann Goering’s war machine. It promises intrigue, adventure, even a little romance.

Q. I noticed that you’ve self-published the books in this series. Please share the best and the most challenging parts of that process?            

A: As with many new authors, the challenge is to find a publisher who will take on your project and then walk you through the maze of the publishing industry. What I quickly learned was that few are willing to take on new authors, and fewer still if their initial work exceeds 100,000 words. My first novel (translation) had just over 150,000 words. Further, what complicated my entry into the world of publishing is that my first work was a translation. In my search, I ran into all sorts of vanity presses, that for a high price promised all sorts of things, including marketing, but delivered little in the way of real promotion, and certainly virtually nothing in terms of distribution. For any author, particularly in the early stages, you need to be available for book signings, and that means distribution into book stores. It was a real learning process. My advice to current writers and aspiring authors, is to seek out established authors and ask lots of questions. Also, keep reading (expand your repertoire), and of course continue writing. And perhaps most important, be prepared for the long haul and the many rejection letters (emails) that are sure to come. One of my first highlights was to see my first novel prominently displayed in a local bookstore. The thrill of signing those first few copies was a wonderful experience and made all the work worthwhile.

To see more of Robert's work, click on any of the images below.

I've been terribly lax about posting Thursday Thirteens lately, but there's a reason for it. Honest!

Now I'm back to work for the language school, it turns out I'm working every Thursday. So, my normal routine of getting up in the morning on Thursday and putting out a T13 has been altered considerably. Also, I've been writing like crazy to get 27 Stages completed, so that's taken up a lot of time.

I've felt rather guilty, so I've made an effort to do a quick post this week - and next week I'll be posting because I've got Thursday off from work (woot!)

So, with that out of the way, please allow me to share with you:

1) On April 1st, I watched the Tour of Flanders.

Alas, my favorite rider (Fabian Cancellara, for the two of you who might be unaware of this fact) suffered a fall which broke his collarbone in four places.

Yes. Four.

Yes, I was disappointed - but of course, not nearly as much as he was.
The only upside of this was that I actually found inspiration for another cycling story. We'll see if I write it.

2) The next day, I had an intensive writing session in which I ironed out a few wrinkles in the final chapters of 27 Stages.

In other words, I finished the first draft.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

3) Having finished the first draft, I needed to take a little time off from the project. I felt antsy for the next couple of days.

4) On Thursday, I had a guest post on Women's Fiction Writers. It went over pretty well, and I'm reasonably sure I got a few sales as a result of it.

5) On Saturday, I cooked. Sort of.

I used a pre-made Korma sauce with chicken for our lunch. One day I'll be bold enough to make it from scratch.

Maybe.

6) For Easter Sunday, we had lunch at my father-in-law's house. Naturally, this means eating lots more food than I normally eat, and then I have to evade having my drinking glass filled with wine (which I can't drink). It's always an adventure, and the conversation is always lively. Heh.

7) Also on Easter Sunday, while eating lunch, we watched Paris-Roubaix. Tom Boonen's rather epic win was something to see, for sure, but we couldn't help wondering how things might have gone if my boy could have been there.

...sigh...

8) On Monday we had another lunch at my father-in-law's house. The Monday after Easter Sunday is called Pasquetta (literally, "Little Easter") in Italy, and we opted to stay in town (like many other Italians did this year) for more family time. My not-quite-four-year-old niece got my camera and took this photo of my hubby.

9) On Tuesday I sold one paperback copy each of Ask Me if I'm Happy and Alternate Rialto to a former student of mine.

10) That same day, I also donated a number of books to my language school's lending library. I cleared off a shelf to do so - it felt good. Now I have more space for my books at home.
*ahem*

11) I also found out that I'd sold four paperback copies of Ask Me if I'm Happy on the same day - naturally, I was pleased to learn this.

12) On Wednesday I was able to find several people to help me with the translations of German, Dutch and Polish I needed for 27 Stages. To say this is/was a relief is an understatement.
Now, the revisions/rewrites/hatcheting edits can begin in earnest.

13) And, last but not least:

I got my first one-star review. Finally.
Alternate Rialto was the victim, on Amazon.com.

I'm not kidding when I say that this actually helped cheer me up a bit this week. I was having a great day on Wednesday, and when I spotted this, I had a good laugh. There's a part of me which was worried I'd never be taken seriously because I've had so many positive reviews. (Only in the writing world is this possible, I reckon.) Now, I've had a proper bad review. I have arrived!

Ciao for now!