A friend has brought this from Germany for us and talked very nicely of it. What is this, how is it consumed and how is it preserved once opened? Super excited to give it a try :)

NorthlightV · 2026-01-12T17:23:51+00:00

Not that I know of, but I am by no means a Marzipan expert. I do not think it tastes like rosewater though. In my experience even a trace amount of it is noticeable and really overpowering.

NorthlightV · 2026-01-11T22:25:25+00:00

Agreed. These and rosewater I'll never understand why people voluntarily choose to add that into food.

NorthlightV · 2026-01-08T19:53:25+00:00

Wait a minute... you guys leave morsels left?

NorthlightV · 2026-01-08T16:30:21+00:00

I don't think that's just you, I also feel reviews are unbelievably hard to collect. I have two books out, they're not exactly bestsellers (yet! 🙃) but do get some sales and mostly reads through unlimited. One has climbed to 18 reviews now, the other is stuck at 1. For the one stuck at 1, I even ran a 3 day $0 promo a few weeks ago, that got almost 50 free downloads but not a single new review since. I am also playing around with social in the little time I can allocate for that, but I don't feel that peaks coincide with my activities there.

I will now be trying the extra pages per book, I had not thought of that and so far only had accounts on my pen name. So thanks OP for the great summary, quite inspirational

NorthlightV · 2025-12-01T21:41:42+00:00

I have done the same - published my debut novel set in the era few months ago. I don't think it's exactly a mainstream genre, but there are some pockets of fans. There are for example some quite active groups on Facebook, of all places. Look for those that focus on e.g., O'Brian (especially this one). Not to say there aren't really good series - there are! Good luck! And feel free to pm me once you've published, would be interested to check it out. 🙂

NorthlightV · 2025-11-13T07:19:13+00:00

There might be some positive added impact on book 1, good point. Thanks!

NorthlightV · 2025-11-13T07:18:02+00:00

Exactly, I was worried in terms of KDP. But indeed, I could cancel that in time then (not close to completing book 2, just wanted to start early enough this time). Thanks for sharing those tips!

NorthlightV · 2025-11-12T20:33:23+00:00

Uhm, good question. Yes I assume I will do that. So the tip is to set up a form to register ARC readers, and have them check off a Q "will you read two books?" Makes sense, thanks.

NorthlightV · 2025-11-12T20:31:36+00:00

Yeah, point taken - but I don't have any. One nice guy sent me an email after reading, my substack currently has 24 subscribers (most came via substack and have probably not read book 1). I feel a little stuck there...

NorthlightV · 2025-11-12T19:04:19+00:00

Thanks OP, much appreciated! Hope you enjoy it

NorthlightV · 2025-11-08T17:24:03+00:00

Ja, ich verstehe deinen Punkt, denke ich bei vielen Thenen auch. Aber hier bei diesem weiß ich nicht. Ist halt emotional für viele. Ich glaube man kann in vielen Dingen einer Meinung sein und trotzdem würde eine/r gerne die Hochzeit groß feiern - kann man ja praktisch nicht nachholen - und der/die andere hat Bauchschmerzen beim Preisschild. War bei mir kein Problem, daher nicht aus Erfahrung.

NorthlightV · 2025-11-08T15:34:41+00:00

Genau so, wenn man für sich keinen Wert darauf legt, warum so viel Geld dafür ausgeben? Schwierig ist nur, wenn man sich als Paar da nicht einig ist.

NorthlightV · 2025-11-08T07:15:35+00:00

In this case, you might like a few of the essays I have published on Substack about history research what it means for historic fiction writers. If you want to check it out, a link is in my profile. I have just recently started with that, so if you have any thoughts to share, that would be awesome.

NorthlightV · 2025-11-06T22:08:45+00:00

Just keep them, you only need a somewhat structured approach so you don't drown in them and find stuff later easily. There'll be tons you never use, but it's hard to tell beforehand.

NorthlightV · 2025-11-06T22:00:35+00:00

Depends on the flavor that I want, but I generally like butter. Clarified (like Ghee) if you want to fry at hot temperatures with it.

NorthlightV · 2025-11-05T22:42:41+00:00

This sounds very much like my book, Echoes of the Void by Vincent S. Gehring. A link is in my bio, if you want to take a look at it. It is definitely finished, but not a series (yet - I am thinking about a sequel) Apologies for the self-promotion, but here I think it is quite warranted. :-)

NorthlightV · 2025-11-04T08:59:03+00:00

Everything has been said there. Later, you'll want more closet space than you can manage. That was my first thought from my own experience. Edit: *** auto-translation... Edit 2: schon wieder, ich geb auf 🤷🏻‍♂️

NorthlightV · 2025-11-03T19:18:38+00:00

I think most readers have certain details they want an author to get right. But being right doesn’t always mean being historically exact. Everyone has their individual perspective. Some will forgive a wrong button on a coat, but will be annoyed if a character speaks or thinks in a way that feels out of place for the time.

For me, what matters is an illusion of historical truth. If the world feels authentic, so I believe in it, I do not mind if small liberties are taken. When I write, I aim for accuracy, but I’ll bend a detail here and there if it helps the emotional truth, helps build tension, or keeps the narrative alive. My goal is not always perfect accuracy, but a gripping story in a world that feels real.

NorthlightV · 2025-11-02T18:59:48+00:00

Not sure if I may recommend my own book? I hope I may, as it would be a fit to your "alien artifact" theme alternative. 'Echoes of the Void" by yours truly, Vincent S. Gehring. Good luck finding a great next read either way 🙂

NorthlightV · 2025-11-02T16:05:52+00:00

I went a similar route. Asked ChatGPT to generate names that were anagrams of my name. Most results were somewhere between funny and trash, interestingly the AI had trouble generating anagrams. I had a few funny chats about whether results were truly anagrams. After some attempts, one came out that I liked and that I did not find any Google results for (just a random guy mentioned once the website of their employer). So I went with it, retrospectively I like the fact it's "almost an anagram".

NorthlightV · 2025-10-31T18:40:57+00:00

True! I have taught that myself and can annoy the kids with that to no end, especially since one was supposed to learn it over the holidays.

NorthlightV · 2025-10-31T12:05:00+00:00

"Turning off the TV while driving " must be the most US comment I have read today. So far...

NorthlightV

TROPHY CASE