Mystery Novels And Other Fiction

Coming Soon: New Crime Series

The first book of a new series is in progress. Hopefully I might have it ready by the end of the year. It took me a while to decide whether to cross the line from editing to writing, and to focus more on writing my own fiction instead (see info here).

The first book is about a series killer, who keeps two homicide detectives busy. More on the story's progress later. Stay tuned.

Tools of The Trade

I used most of the tools already during my years of [technical] writing, copy editing, and as an avionics instructor. Some tools were added later on, to optimize my workflow. Other software got dropped (e.g. FrameMaker). So, using these tools for my fiction writing came naturally to me.

Several years ago I began using PageFour for working on manuscripts (apart from the every day standard tool MS Word). Then Scrivener for Windows became available, and I began to write with it for a while. However, I returned to PageFour as it was more intuitive for my writing habits.

Now they released Atomic Scribbler as the long awaited successor of PageFour, and I jumped to it. This new writer software is specifically designed for novelists and short story writers. Right down my alley. Same goes for the Word Add-In Smart-Edit. It's my indispensable first-pass editing tool to clean up drafts.

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About

About the Writing

hans maerker Writing started originally as an editorial freelance entity, customized to help individuals or other small businesses.

I have earned my experience during years working in a corporate environment, filled with editing, writing, and in-house publishing under tight deadlines. Yet, over the last few years of my freelancer life, I longed more and more for writing my own fiction instead of brushing up other writers' manuscripts.

Finally I decided to be on the other side of the fence, and not only write thrillers, but publish them under my own name. Next in line is a thriller series, with the first book most likely ready some time late fall. The final date depends on other editors' schedules, and their availabilty. Now it's on me to avoid writer's tunnel vision, and to work with editors. I'll keep everybody informed about the progress. Stay tuned.

Meet the Writer

I am a native German. However, my great grandfather and my aunt were both British. Therefore I have been bilingual most of my life.

I chose the engineering path as part of my education, and specialized in electronics and aviation. Working for airlines exposed me more to American English. So I spent a small fortune on perfecting it at Berlitz, and it was my prevailing language from then on.

Aviation let me go around the globe for years. I spent a lot of my time in the Far East, and some of it in the Middle East. My passports, showing all these entry stamps, looked like an impressionistic painting. I became familiar with Malaysia and Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka, China, and Australia. Not to mention Africa and Israel.

Last but not least, I finally moved to the U.S., where I worked as an avionics instructor for an airline. Teaching avionics systems in a classroom, as well as writing or editing technical training manuals defined my daily routine. These times were the turning point, transforming me completely into an editor and writer for the rest of my life.

Then, family issues required my presence in Germany again. My wife and I returned to my old stomping ground, leaving 'Corporate America' behind us after so many years. Back in Germany, we sorted things out, stayed there for a while, but eventually moved on again.

We decided to settle in Malta [Mediterranean], and consider this our 'home' for the time being. I am registered as an independent copy editor and writer here in Malta.

Tools for Writers

Smart Edit

SmartEdit for Word
First-pass Editing Tool
For Creative Writers and Novelists.

Atomic Scribbler
Creative Writing Software
For Novel and Short Story Writers.

Android Apps

aCalendar | aCalendar+
Android apps for personal use
or business. Google Play.

Jota + | Text Editor
Android apps for personal use
or business. Google Play.

Pro-Key add-on enables Jota+
to write to an available SD card

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Service

What I still offer, while writing books.

In short, I have to cut down on editorial services in favor of my own writing. I don't really market my editing services anymore, but still offer both, digitizing printed manuscripts or creating user friendly manuals [as PDF] on demand.

The digitizing service is useful for writers or authors who lost their original files, but still have a print copy at hand.

It is also interesting for authors who got their publishing rights back, and now want to self-publish those books they have written on a typewriter so many years ago.

Please feel free to contact me. I will work with you, and make room for you between my own writing activities. You can have your digital resources back soon, and for an affordable fee. I know how disastrous any loss of digital work can be for a writer.

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Contact

How to contact me

Our local time zone here in Europe is GMT [UTC] +1.

Differences in time zones are often quite large, and the best way to contact me is via email. Especially when establishing a communication on an intercontinental base.

We are in Malta several hours ahead of the U.S., ranging from 9 hours ahead of Pacific Time to 6 hours ahead of Eastern Time.

South Africa, on the contrary, is 1 hour ahead of us, and New Zealand even a total of 11 hours.

Time differences within the European Union are not relevant, as they are mostly within 2 hours.

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Email hmaerker@hansmaerker.com

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