It’s 5 a.m. … and here I am, at Luqa International airport in Malta. In just an hour I’ll be heading to Heathrow and on to the London Book Fair.
I must admit I have no concrete plans. So far, all info is quite disheartening. Agents and publishers are not interested in spontaneous talks with aspiring authors and any interviews need to be booked months in advance. I love the world of books, so I’ll be quite happy strolling through the holy halls of modern day book publishing though.
Of course, I have dreams of running into my favorite authors, like for example J.K. Rowlings and casually asking her, “hey, wanna grab a coffee?”
To which she will reply, “Sure, I’d love to!”
Or chatting with an agent in between booths and him saying, “I need to hear more about that book of yours. I am veeery interested.”
Whatever happens or doesn’t happen though, I’ll enjoy the adventure and try to get at least a little taste of London.
For now, I am having a delicious chocolate croissant and am sitting next to a charming family from Liverpool whose little son is also called Liam. Looking at me with sparkling eyes and devouring his custard pie, I am sure little Liam agrees that our day isn’t off to a bad start.

Pheeew, exciting times. Three days ago my laptop began to freeze continuously. I managed to reboot it one more time, copied all the latest files for my book onto a thumb drive and, five minutes later, the machine was as unresponsive as a brick wall.
With lots of coaxing I was finally able to reboot it in recovery mode and reformat the entire thing.
Now it’s all good. Adrenaline levels are back to normal and backups are transferred to the “all new” machine.
Has anything like this ever happened to you? I am still sweating and have been reminded once more to not trust my gadgets too blindly and to back up religiously!

All my life, I have not done things by halves. For as long as I can remember, I have given my very heart and soul to every single work project, no matter who for, no matter how small or big. I latch on like a bulldog to a juicy bone and don’t let go until what I do is of a quality I can be proud of. I don’t do that for teachers, employers, or bosses. I simply do it, because it makes me feel happy and good about myself.
First writing and now publishing my book is another one of these challenges I have taken on with 100% intensity. I am pouring all of my passion and tenacity into ‘The Fortunate Nomad’. I am diving in deep, spending every free minute writing proposals and query letters (so far it’s been twenty-eight). And as I enter ever deeper into the unknown, I feel more alive than ever before. I feel positive. I feel whole. I am happy.

Let me tell you a little about the progress of “The Fortunate Nomad”… my manuscript is, for the moment, as ready as it is going to get. After 14 months of intensive writing and two rounds of editing with the very talented, professional editor Monica Meneghetti, the 8th draft is finished. My story has 35 chapters. With a formatting of 12pt font and double spacing we are looking at 592 pages.
I have started the process of writing to literary agents and publishers. So far, I am targeting only companies in the UK. The London Book Fair is coming up and I am hoping to make some connections there. Unfortunately, with all the job hunting and moving to a new country, I seem to have missed my chance to sign up for personal meetings with agencies directly at the fair. This, of course, will not stop me from trying to talk with them anyways.
As for my letters and submissions, it’s a lot of hard work. Each agency has different submission guidelines, so I am spending most of my free time composing and rearranging submission after submission, then sending them out with hopes of getting some sort of feedback further down the line.
So far, I have received three rejections. The first was very encouraging, “we are unfortunately completely swamped, but I’m sure you’ll be snapped up”. The second was polite, “we don’t feel your story is right for our current list.” And the third was quite direct, “I’m afraid we’re going to pass”.
I’ll continue writing to every single agency and publisher I can find in the UK. After that, I will begin targeting the hundreds of companies in Canada and the USA.
Essentially, I am not going to stop. I will keep sending letters every day for as long as it will take to find someone who will be intrigued and care; someone who will believe in “The Fortunate Nomad” and see its great potential as much as I do.
So, keep fingers crossed my dear friends and readers. We will get there in the end! xxx

On 23rd of January 2015 my incomparable lady and I got married. I have tried to write a longer text to go with this picture but, honestly, words are not enough right now. In time, I may write a whole book about us.
We have been through a lot together already and we will continue to believe in each other and be there for each other. I can’t think of anything more profound and beautiful than that.

I am going to the London Book Fair in April! And I am so excited! Receiving my eBadge, I felt like a little kid catching a glimpse of a bag full of colorful marbles… and soon I’ll go and play.
This is going to sound very nerdy but all my life I have dreamed of once attending a big book show like this. I just never imagined I actually would one day, least of all wearing a badge stating “Liam Klenk – Author”.
I hope so much I’ll be able to talk with some people and get a foot in the door somewhere. So many books are developing in my mind, just waiting to sprout, grow and blossom. Let’s dream big. First my manuscript for “The Fortunate Nomad” needs to find a way out there, and then the sky’s the limit.

Time is flying right now. So much is happening. I changed countries again. I changed jobs. And while trying to find my feet here on this beautiful rock called Malta, I am at the same time trying to find the time to write some excellent letters to dozens of agents and publishers. More than anything, I am hoping to make contact with someone who will fall in love with my book and go the extra mile to not only publish it, but publish it well.

Behind the red hammock you see the door to “B5”, my tiny staff quarters on the Maldivian island of Kuredu. They consisted of a room just big enough for a queen size bed and a wardrobe, and a tiny bathroom with a view of the equatorial sky. I loved this little home. Especially sitting on the comfy chairs in front of my door, sipping an early morning coffee, listening to birds and geckos chattering away, while the coffee machines of my neighbors roared loudly behind paper-thin walls.
I am now 44 years old (well almost) and the entirety of my worldly possessions still fits into two suitcases. One of these days I’ll settle down somewhere. At least as far as to have a “harbor” to return to after going out into the world once more. For now though, I am happy to be able to be unhampered by possessions. I feel immensely lucky and treasure my freedom.

The last 10 years of nomadic life have brought me to three places starting with “Ma”: the Maldives, Macau, and now Malta.
These names have sort of blurred together in my mind. You will find me sitting in a Maltese restaurant, asking the waitress, “So, what are your Maldivian specialties today?” Or I’ll take a cab and say, “Ah, Macauan traffic is really bad today, isn’t it?”
Nevertheless, I do realize where I am: in Malta, my third “Ma”. And, as we say in Germany, all good things come in threes.