Blog | Hannah Steenbock | Feel-good Stories. In Any Universe.

Back after a Long Break

Posted on 30/08/2013 by Hannah Steenbock

Pu’ukani’s Song

I’ve been away from this blog for a long time. That’s because I have been focusing on my other life as coach and therapist and putting in a lot of work in my website and offers. It’s fun to open up internationally and creating wonderful programs for people who want to change their lives.

But it meant that I didn’t have time, nor the space in my head to keep writing blogposts here. And I apologize for every time you went to take a look and didn’t find anything new. Of course, I also moved the blog to my own domain …hopefully, you’ll find me here. I’ll drop hints on my old blog location, as well. Continue reading →

Posted in English | Tagged Inspiration, self-publishing, writing | Leave a comment

Some More Writing Advice – Beginning, Middle, End

Posted on 18/03/2013 by Hannah Steenbock

Beginning, Middle, End

Sorry for the long silence. I’ve been working on my other business … and that took a lot of time and energy. Even so, I’ve been overwhelmed with the great responses to my short story ebook, “Sequoia”. Thanks go to everyone who downloaded it when it was free, everyone who bought a copy, and most of all, everyone who commented on it, either on Amazon (8 reviews! Woohooo!), or in any other shape and form. You are wonderful! Continue reading →

Posted in English, Writing | Tagged beginning, end, middle, novel, writing, writing advice | Leave a comment

Launch of the Ebook Sequoia

Posted on 23/02/2013 by Hannah Steenbock

Sequoia – a short story

Today, I’m officially launching my brand new ebook “Sequoia – a short story”. It’s free on all amazon stores today, so you can grab it right away and enjoy it!

Now, what made me write “Sequoia”? I really don’t know anymore. This is one of the tales that simply flow from mind to keyboard. I was reading a lot of shamanic books, meditating, thinking about nature, energy and how it is all interlinked. Fun times, and somehow, all this coaleced into this story. Continue reading →

Posted in English | Tagged free ebook, self-publishing, Sequoia, short story | 2 Comments

“Save the Cat!” – Ein Drehbuchratgeber

Posted on 22/01/2013 by Hannah Steenbock

Save the cat *

Stellt euch vor, ein recht unsympathischer, mürrischer Held tritt auf und tut kurz darauf etwas Unerwartetes: Er rettet ganz selbstlos eine Katze. Auf welche Weise auch immer. Und sofort mögen wir ihn. Der Film ist gerettet. Und der Roman auch.

So eindeutig und klar strukturiert kommt das Buch mit diesem Titel daher. Continue reading →

Posted in Deutsch, Review | Tagged 3-Akt, Rezension, Roman, Schreiben, Struktur | Leave a comment

Was ich am Ebook-Marketing hasse

Posted on 02/01/2013 by Hannah Steenbock

Ebook Vermarktung *

Ich bin ja dem Selbstveröffentlichen gar nicht abgeneigt und habe sogar gerade ~~meinen nächsten Bestseller~~ eine englischsprachige Kurzgeschichte zum Formatieren etc. in Auftrag gegeben. Daher schaue ich natürlich, was andere Autoren in diesem Bereich so treiben, um ihre Geschichten und Romane zu vermarkten. Und ich gebe zu, dass ich dabei Dinge erlebe, die mich als Leserin doch immer wieder ärgern. Continue reading →

Posted in Deutsch, Writing | Tagged ebooks, Facebook, marketing, Rezension, Roman, Selbstverlag | Leave a comment

What I Hate When People Market Their Ebooks

Posted on 31/12/2012 by Hannah Steenbock

Selling Books Online *

As I’m thinking about self-publishing, I’m also trying to get a feel for how to market my ~~future bestseller~~ upcoming short story. And I’m stumbling on things that make me, as reader, rather angry.

In fact, I think the last thing I should do as author is to make my readers angry at me. Continue reading →

Posted in English, Writing | Tagged ebooks, Facebook, marketing, review, self-publishing, writing | 1 Comment

Dying to Forget – Trish Marie Dawson

Posted on 25/12/2012 by Hannah Steenbock

Dying to Forget *

The other day, I talked about how writing in present tense is a sign of a beginner and amateur. I still mean it. And that’s why I almost didn’t continue with this novel. Even so, I dug in, and here, present tense works somewhat. That’s because of the special location where the novel takes place, and because of the topic itself. More about that in a moment.

I often get notifications about free ebooks on Amazon. And yes, it’s part of Amazon’s marketing strategy to give away books for a day, to gain a larger readership. These days, I’ve gotten a little smarter and check reviews before I grab a book, even if it’s for free. Continue reading →

Posted in English, Review | Tagged novel, review, suicide, YA | Leave a comment

Dying to Forget – Trish Marie Dawson

Posted on 17/12/2012 by Hannah Steenbock

Dying to Forget *

Neulich habe ich ja mal ein wenig über das Schreiben im Präsens hergezogen. Nun habe ich letzte Woche einen kleinen Roman im Präsens gelesen – und es hat ganz gut funktioniert. Das lag unter anderem an dem Ort, wo dieser Roman spielt, und natürlich auch etwas am Thema. Mehr dazu gleich.

Ich bekomme häufig Informationen und Werbung für Ebooks, die für einen Tag kostenlos bei Amazon angeboten werden. Inzwischen bin ich ja etwas schlauer geworden und schaue mir die Rezensionen an, bevor ich so ein Ebook “kaufe”. Continue reading →

Posted in Deutsch, Review, Writing | Tagged Jugendbuch, Rezension, Roman, Selbstmord | Leave a comment

Zombies and all that

Posted on 14/12/2012 by Hannah Steenbock

Zombie Suit *

Well, this is another rant. Kinda sorta. You see, every time when I see another creepy horror cover on Facebook, every time I see a gruesome face covered in blood, every time I see more nightmarish creatures advertising a book, the same question pops up in my mind:

Why?

Why are there people who like this? Why are there people who write stories I would never ever think of in my worst nightmare? Who creates covers that literally make me feel sick? And posts them on Facebook? Continue reading →

Posted in English | Tagged dark, dystopian, help, Horror, worldbuilding, writing, zombies | Leave a comment

Die Sache mit den Zombies

Posted on 10/12/2012 by Hannah Steenbock

Zombieanzug *

Jetzt muss es doch mal raus. Jedes Mal, wenn ich bei Facebook wieder ein neues Horror-Cover sehe, jedes Mal, wenn wieder Blut über Gesichter strömt, jedes Mal, wenn ich wieder albtraumhafte Gestalten erblickte, frage ich mich:

Warum?

Warum gibt es Menschen, die so etwas mögen? Die sich Geschichten ausdenken, die mir nicht einmal in den schlimmsten Albträumen einfallen würden? Wer gestaltet Cover, bei denen mir manchmal regelrecht schlecht wird? Und postet sie stolz auf Facebook? Continue reading →