About Me
No straight course, but always full speed ahead.
From the Sea to Literature:
A Treasury for My Books
My life is anything but a steady river—it's a wild ocean of currents, whirlpools, and tides. It has many chapters—and so do my books. All of them carry a trace of saltwater and cat fur.
“Pure navigators have vision. Marine engineers have insight. But you, as dual-licensed ship operations officers, end up with both!”
Vision & Insight
13 Years at Sea
After training as a ship mechanic and completing my degree as a graduate engineer in ship operations, the world's oceans were my workplace for many years. I last served as Chief Officer with a dual license (unlimited deck and unlimited engineering certificates). Those years taught me improvisation, flexibility, and one simple truth: at sea, there's no such thing as "can't be done." There always has to be a solution — because in the middle of the ocean, there's no emergency exit, no customer service, no “we’ll deal with it tomorrow”.
8 Years with the Hamburg Police
In 2002, I left seafaring behind, completed another degree (in Public Administration, specializing in Police Service), and joined Hamburg’s Waterway Police. For eight years, I gained experience in waterway police operations, criminal investigations, and police administration. What I learned there about the darker sides of human nature, investigative work, and criminal law is stored away in my head — waiting to flow into my crime novels and thrillers.
Adult Education & Maritime Business
After positions at two Hamburg shipping companies, I founded my own firm. In cooperation with international classification societies and major shipping lines, I trained shipping company employees in marine engineering, quality management, and security. Through audits on ships across Europe, I ensured the quality of operational management, occupational safety, and ship security (lifesaving and counter-terrorism measures).
Finally making all the decisions myself. Taking full responsibility. And hoping the contracts would come. They did — but it wasn’t easy.
Certified Cat Behaviorist
In 2014, I turned my back on the maritime world and followed what had captivated me for years: cats. As a certified cat behaviorist, I spent eight years helping cat owners truly understand their animals. If you look closely, there’s a story behind every behavior—that insight has changed my writing, too.
The Magic of Words: Debut Book & Editorial Work
The death of our tomcat Mystery tore a hole in our lives. Processing my grief and the pain I endured eventually led to the publication of my first book, “Mystery and the Rainbow Bridge”, in 2020. The hunger for more words, more books, drove me to train as an editor. Since then, I’ve also been guiding other authors on their way to a finished manuscript—and with every text I edit, my own eye for writing grows sharper.
Books give us a vacation from life. They spirit our minds away from reality and send us on journeys. Mine take you onto the bridge of a container ship, into the soul of a cat, or into the depths of the human psyche — return not guaranteed.
