I was born in 1967 in Ratingen, a town near Düsseldorf (a town nobody outside Germany knows) and Cologne (a town the people from Düsseldorf hate - not only because it's more famous). After school I went to live in France for a bit more than one year. The town I lived in is known all over the world for the brandy produced there: Cognac. As quite a number of Cognac companies are in British, American or Canadian ownership, a lot of English-speaking people live in the litte town and some of these became my best friends. So I was able to improve my command of French and English at the same time.

Back in Germany I served an apprenticeship in the export business and passed international exams as a translator for English and French as well. For about nine years I worked as a project manager in companies importing or exporting plants and machinery. In 1996 I felt a need for change and set up my own business as a translator and teacher for Business English and Business French. Although my days were packed full of work I started writing my first novel in 2002 - and it became an unexpected success.

I've been working as a full-time freelance writer since 2006.