Shalla on Germany and Writing

Hi Writers! Shalla here, back from Deutschland (Germany) studying German... and what better way to learn the language than to read books in German. Specifically novels. More specifically, romance novels. So, I'm checking out Romantic Times. Did you know they're now on Facebook?

At the moment, I'm reading Harry Potter und der Halbblutprinz (and the Half Blood Prince) and one from Nora Roberts (of course!) called Rebeccas Traum (Rebecca's Dream or Impulse). I'm sure both are going to be fun reads :)

RT Book Reviews is on Facebook

RT's Summer Reading Challenge! (win a book bundle)
As the executive editor of RT I read a lot of books in a lot of genres. Some I love. Some I hate. Every once in a while though, I find a book and I wonder why more people haven't read it. So I've decided to issue a summer reading challenge...

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=121515187960&ref=mf

What did I learn in Germany? That learning languages is soooo fun! Now, I've only been studying German at home, full time for 3 months (since late April) but I've been very gung-ho about it--just as I am when I decide to do something--go all the way, I'd say. So, when the language school in Germany placed me, I wasn't in a Beginner's class, I actually ended up with two other students, both with years of training in speaking German. One, from Spain, has been taking German at a university for 4 years, something like that, and he's been at the language school a couple of years ago where he took the beginner's class for one month. My other classmate has been living in Germany for 4 years, he's married to a German and already speaks German and only needed help with writing and some Grammar stuff. So, okay, there I was doing my best to keep up. I studied for at least 5 hours per day, in all hours of the night. I had my index cards, I'm meditating, using aromatherapy (lavender) to sleep--just like college days. Oh, it was sooo fun!

To make a long story short, I survived, got a 90+ on the test, got a feel for the energy of Bavaria, etc. etc. etc.

Can I speak German now? Ja, natürlich! But give me a few more months before I'm a prolific talker. Unless--I also went to France (Paris), you see, and I have several books in French I'd like to read, and okay some Spanish books too... What was really fun about going to that language school, I met so many people who spoke several languages (4 or more wasn't out of the ordinary) that when I told them I'm studying German, French and Spanish for complete fluency, it's not a big deal. It's like, how have I survived this long knowing only 2?

Recently been rejected by a Literary Agent? An Editor?

Ever tried hypnosis to feel better and change your attitude about it?



Get your Positive Attitude back:

http://www.hypnosisdownloads.com/downloads/personal_development/positive-attitude.html



Here's one to help with writing:



Overcome Writers Block Unlock The Creative Unconscious Self Hypnosis

by Erick Brown

http://www.amazon.com/Overcome-Writers-Creative-Unconscious-Hypnosis/dp/B001KW8X4C/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1249060517&sr=301-1