Read My Mind Magazine The best of Lily Amis 2018 by Lily Amis

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Publisher, Concept, Head Writer, Layout: nasSima-design.com Magazine Editor: Lily Amis & Jill C.Corley Services LLC Sponsoring & Product Placement: nasSima-design.com Contact: info@nasSima-design.com

Read My Mind Winter Issue 2018 Read My Mind - The Best of Lily Amis 2018

A WORD FROM THE PUBLISHER by nasSima design WHAT THE MAGAZINE IS ABOUT

By reducing the page number we are reducing the print cost. We hope you like the changes and enjoy reading our topics. FYI: The language of our magazine is English. But as readers, please keep in mind that our guest bloggers are international. Every country has its own rules regarding the English Language!

As you know, two of the main themes of Read My Mind is an exciting and this magazine are diversity and tolerance, international magazine with fresh, therefore, we the publishers of Read My educational, and informative content. The Mind, have given our guest bloggers the freedom to be responsible for their own concept was born in January 2017. article’s spelling and orthography. The official trailers gives you a great feeling for the high energy we brought to every For us, the messages, opinions, and views page of this gorgeous and colourful of the articles are what’s important and magazine, which is available online (free) not where the commas, dots, quotation marks, capitalized words are, or aren’t! and in print. With us you discover new authors, books, movies, publishing news, and you will meet inspiring people and learn about historical places. This magazine is all about making your life better and giving you awesome content that educates & entertains.

Honestly, life is too short and time is too precious to make a big fuss about it. Read My Mind is a magazine and every article is respected, in the way it is written. Thank you for respecting and appreciating our Author’s works!

While we had permanent bloggers in 2017, we will be featuring only guest bloggers from time to time in the future. Every issue is going to be dedicated to one topic.

This can be a person, a place or a subject. The topic of our third issue in 2018 is Austria. Also we have decided to reduce the page number, because many of our readers prefer to read a print copy of this magazine. Read My Mind Winter Issue 2018 Read My Mind - The Best of Lily Amis 2018

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THE IDEA BEHIND THE TITLE “READ MY MIND” AND THE MAGAZINE COVER Our mind is the most personal and private treasure we have. We all have opinions and thoughts based on our life’s experiences. People see us and hear us talk, but they don’t always know what we really think or what we really feel! And yet here we are naming our magazine, “Read My Mind”. Why? Because, we are here to share our honest and most personal thoughts, experiences, and knowledge with our readers. The human mind is the body’s hard disk. The human’s heart is the body’s electricity. Unfortunately, most humans take everything for granted. But, think about all the knowledge we treasure in our minds. Day by day we are overdosed with some useful, but mostly useless, information. We don’t even realize how much information collects in our brain. And we wonder why sometimes we don’t remember something. Other times we are surprised about our remarkable ability to find answers or remember stuff that we haven’t thought about for years!

always easy - nothing and, I mean nothing and no-one, can stop us from our personal missions. None of us is perfect. We all have our strengths and weakness. We all should train our minds to focus on our strengths and our passions and not torture our minds with our weakness or things that we don’t like. We shouldn’t listen to other people’s opinions and let them brainwash our minds with negativity. The sooner we learn who we are and what we are good at, the sooner we find the right road to drive. Many of us have lost precious life time, in our twenties or even thirties, because of life’s circumstances and expectations by society. But, it is never too late to turn in the right direction. At the end of the day, we all know that nothing is permanent. And the only thing that really matters is that we have peace of mind. You cannot please everyone and you know what? You shouldn’t even try. The only person who you should please is you!

Our mind is what makes us who we are. Our mind is what makes us achieve our goals, wishes, and dreams! Our mind is the key to almost everything in life. If we are honest with our mind and our heart - which is not Read My Mind Winter Issue 2018 Read My Mind - The Best of Lily Amis 2018

TABLE OF MINDS THE BEST OF LILY AMIS 2018 A collection of articles and Interviews by Lily Amis from the Read My Mind spring, summer and winter issue 2018. If you like to read the full version of each issue including the articles from the guest bloggers you can order the magazines in high print quality on our website: www.nassima-design.com/RMM A word by the publisher The idea behind the title and the Magazine Cover PUBLISHING & SOCIAL MEDIA Social Media or Social Disease! Authors don’t Let the Social Media numbers Fool You! Authors please STOP selling yourself short! Authors take better care of your Time, Mind, Body & Soul! I'm the rights holder. I have the final say! Free Giveaways ruin the Book Industry Caught in a Circle of Illusion – Instagram Fiction Verses Non-Fiction The Next Generation INSPIRATIONAL PEOPLE & PLACES Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who Was the Most Energized Perfectionist Dreamer of All? The Fairy Tale King The Kingdom of Italy Meet Maria Montessori Meet author Carlo Collodi the Creator of Pinocchio Visit Austria And Travel Back In Time MUSIC Mozart & Strauss Meet Artist Viktor Angelov

2 4

6 9 14 17 19 20 22 24 27

29 35 44 48 52 54

60 62

LILYWOOD Movie Review Sissi Movie Review My Name is Khan God Bless The 80es And 90es My Childhood Hero American Actor And Singer David Hasselhoff

68 76 78 81

The Teddy Project The Bon Voyage Charity Project

88 90

NASSIMA DESIGN COLLECTIONS

Social Media or Social Disease! Ever since I joined the writer’s world, I was forced to be active on social media because that’s what everybody else is doing to promote their work. And regardless of what I think personally, unfortunately, society makes you believe that social media accounts and posts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other platforms are a must to be successful. Regrettably, once you join the party you can’t leave it. You are forced to stay and show yourself as often and as much as you can. And, sooner or later, people become addicted to it. Whether you are aware of it or not, social media has become a modern social disease. It surely has its pros, especially when it comes to public awareness and knowledge about certain topics, but it also has its big cons. The more people use social media – in my case, to try to strengthen my social presence – the more they become addicted. I often have to wonder about the posts that I read. Sometimes they sound so desperate or pushy that it makes me unfollow these accounts. If people constantly want to sell me something, I run away. I’d rather decide myself whether I want to read a book or not. I don’t want to feel manipulated. Some fellow authors buy your book only to make you buy theirs too.

Read My Mind - The Best of Lily Amis 2018

They write five-star reviews for you so that you do the same in return. Come on. That’s just silly, desperate and unprofessional. You really can’t, and shouldn’t, manipulate readers and fellow authors to buy and review your work. Many authors feel the way I feel but don’t have the courage to speak out. They play the game and keep their opinion to themselves. Well, this summer I decided that I wouldn’t play this game anymore. I distanced myself from the daily communications and realized how relieving it is not to feel the constant pressure to post something. It is such a relief to be more passive and not have to interact with other authors who expect you to like, message and comment on all their posts. I have no interest and no longer make the time to interact with authors who mainly have sales as their motivator and pretend loyalty to those that will assist them. You realize who they are when they unfollow you as soon as you don’t respond their posts! Some authors on Facebook have actually been so pushy with their daily posts that I had to either unfollow or “snooze” them to hide their stressful communications.

Limiting the number of social platforms you participate in is probably the best solution of all to get rid of this pressure. For example, I don’t use Facebook anymore. I have deleted my account and all my Facebook pages. I don’t use Pinterest at all and have avoided Twitter for months. Now I use it again on a weekly basis like Instagram. Because as opposite to IG, Twitter is, in my opinion, the more sophisticated place when it comes to political, cultural and social posts. Even people like Kanye West with millions of followers are criticizing social media platforms because of the negative influence that it has for young people. Let me quote his message on IG: “There are people committing suicide due to not getting enough likes. Speaking for myself I personally want to participate in social media

with the option of not having to show my followers or likes. Having your amount of likes on display for the world to see and judge is like showing how much money you have in the bank or having to write the size of your dick on your t-shirt. “

Even though I disagree with much of what Mister West has to say, I think this statement is something to think about. I also believe spending 15 minutes a week on social media is more than enough to update followers, potential readers and fellow authors. Therefore, dear authors, be aware that time is precious. Be aware why you are on social media and why you are posting and interacting with others. I hope my next article inspires you to give this article a deeper thought.

MY LIFE IN BOOKS

PRINT BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE ON AMAZON EBOOKS ARE AVAILABLE ON SMASHWORDS

PUBLISHING Authors don’t Let the Social Media numbers Fool You! Ever since I joined the social media world, mainly and only to promote my books, I ask myself the same question daily. Is social media useful for authors? Do we really find our readership on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and company? What are the pro and cons of all these platforms? Before I decided to share my brutal honest answer, based on my previous two and half years of experience, I wanted to share the experience of a few fellow authors as well. So, I asked a small group of passionate and hardworking indie authors on Facebook the following three questions, but only one from over fifty authors responded. All the others ignored my question, which is not a real surprise to me. You wonder why? Well maybe this article answers your question. A.) If you had to choose only one of all the social media platforms to promote your books, which one is it and why? Twitter? Facebook? Instagram?

Any other one? B.) Would you say that social media is useful for indie authors? Does the number of your followers validate the number of your sales? C.) Can you honestly hand on heart say that the time that you invest on your social media posts, tweets, etc. has any benefit for you sales-wise? Or has it just become a habit and duty because everyone else is doing it? And this is the only response I got: “I like Instagram best as people are kinder, more supportive and it's not full of posts venting bile at the world. I've only been on social media for exactly one year now, so I can do a direct comparison. 2016 I sold precisely three copies of my book. 2017 I don't know the exact numbers but it's definitely over 100. I don't know how else people could find out about my books if not through social media? Is it a time sucking void? It can be, if you allow it to be. I don't have a lot of time, so I'm trying to decrease the time I spend on it, but increase the impact.”

Now back to my honest opinion and my experience so far. In summer 2015 when I went to London to promote my memoir Destination: Freedom, I was advised by my PR agency based in Mayfair, London that I MUST join the social media world. All authors should be on social media and it is advisable to be at least on Twitter. So, I did it. I opened an account on Twitter and it was learning by doing until I understood everything. It takes a while until you know how to use the right # and what for example a #FF means etc. But thanks to Google you are quickly a Twitter specialist. Today after 2.5 years I have over 7000 (real) followers on Twitter. My biggest number of monthly impressions on Twitter has been over 261,000 K. Meanwhile, regarding Facebook I have over 2000K likes on my book, collection, and magazine pages combined. At the beginning, I joined several author/writer groups and friended with everyone assuming that it was what I had to do to be successful. The last platform I joined was the world of Instagram in November 2017 and today I have around 350 (real) followers. There is a reason I put the word (real) in parentheses. I explain why later. So anyway, what do these numbers really mean? Who are these people? Do the number of my followers, likes, shares, retweets, and impressions really validate the number of my book sales? What do you think? I hate to disappoint you, but my honest answer is the numbers mean absolutely nothing. As much as I appreciate the followers, they are not my readers. Admittedly I have met a few interesting, inspiring, talented, and lovely people from across the globe on social media (especially on Twitter) that I normally wouldn’t meet in person in real life. But that’s not the reason I joined the social media world. Reality is that authors spend time with posts and tweets to sell their books and not to make friends. Ironically the first contacts we authors make are other authors and editors.

While some authors are sincerely interested in others’ work, some just follow you to see what you are doing so they can copy you. That is fine because we all are here to learn from each other, inspire, encourage, and support each other. Unfortunately, some authors only connect with you to offer their book for free to get reviews, which is OK. But if you have read my previous article Authors Please Stop Selling Yourself Short you know my opinion about offering books for free. Editors follow indie authors mainly to find new costumers, which is fine. Authors need editors as editors need authors. It is a two-way street. So, at the end of the day authors are following authors and editors and the other way around. After a while you get to know the community. In the last two and a half years I have seen many authors coming and going. Not everyone has the discipline, will, and persistence to continue this challenging and difficult path. Writing books is one thing, but promoting books is the hardest part of all. Also, not everyone is truly a gifted writer, but that’s another story.

Anyway, in summer 2017 I had a wake-up-call experience about social media. Someone’s social media number of followers fooled me. He was from the entertainment industry, though not an author. I really thought this person with over 20 thousand Twitter followers, 12 thousand Instagram followers and even a verified Facebook page with a blue check mark was what he said on social media. Well, let’s say I learned my lesson! Thanks to social media many little charlatans and wannabees have the chance to shine. As long as it doesn’t harm anyone, it’s fine with me. But the moment where people use their false profiles and false numbers of followers to fool others for their own benefits the game is over. So, this experience made me question everything about social media and the number of followers and likes once again. It also made me question the tiny blue digital badge of internet credibility. As we all know many people buy followers.

That’s why I said (real) followers. Many accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are fake profiles. No one and nothing is behind them. I know the answer to why this certain person and others like him fool people. It is their lack of confidence or lack of personality. I guess fooling people by pretending to be what they are not in real life makes them bear themselves more, because they don’t like what they are in the real world. At least that’s my explanation of why people start to pretend and continue their game. They need to feel a sense of confirmation to be satisfied with what they pretend to be. But why on earth are we authors wasting so much precious time on posts, tweets, shares, and likes to get more followers, likes, and impressions, when we clearly see that the result is not as is should be sales-wise? If the number of likes, shares, retweets, impressions, and followers were a currency for our hard work I would understand the consistency. But that’s clearly not the case, so why are we afraid of admitting that social media is nothing but a waste of time, energy, and effort?

I tell you why! Because everyone else is doing it. Facebook with its author/writer groups has become an AA meeting for authors (anonymous authors meeting), where they mainly complain instead of finding solutions and trying out new ways of book marketing. We all make mistakes in life and that’s fine as long as we learn from our mistakes. And there comes a point in everyone’s life where we need ask ourselves why we’re doing what we’re doing. We must question our motivation and decisions to make sure that we are on the right path. No one is doing anything for nothing. And that’s the case for me with social media. I’m done! I made my experience with Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and enough is enough. Time is precious. Time is money. Time is priceless and I’m not willing to waste my time on something where I don’t get anything in return. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not leaving the social media world, but I’m certainly not going to invest more time than necessary.

Instead I will invest the time in writing, selfeducation, and living in reality by spending time with real people and real friends. I’m going to try out other ways of book marketing and find my readership and raise the number of my sales instead of the number of my followers, likes, shares, and impressions!

When you are new on Facebook the number of author/writer groups impresses you. And if you are new in publishing it is quite helpful to connect with experienced authors, illustrators, etc. I even ran a support group myself for a couple of months, but I had to close it because it was just too time-consuming.

We all have to find our own way and I wish you the best in yours. Maybe this article encourages you to rethink your social media behaviour as well and face reality and not be afraid of saying NO and acting differently. It’s time to wake up and make a serious change. Be honest with yourself and make the right choice. Good luck!

Also, the lack of results with sales was the same. And to be honest, I was also annoyed by all the negative comments from fellow authors. I love to be surrounded by inspirational, empowering, and encouraging people. By being negative and nagging all the time about everything you don’t solve any problem. I had opened several book pages for my different genres and this was also time-consuming. Constantly updating all these pages was annoying as well. So, I reduced the number of pages and I’m not updating them anymore either except the one for my blogger magazine. I also reduced the number of so-called Facebook friends to a minimum because it just doesn’t make sense to be connected with people who have no profile picture. Call me old fashioned, but I like to know who I’m talking to. I also rather have a picture of a human than a picture of an animal, a cartoon figure, an avatar, a flower, or a book cover, where I constantly have to question the identity behind the computer!

My Pros and Cons About Twitter: When I was new on Twitter I was totally impressed by followers who had over 100 thousand followers. I thought wow this is amazing. I was overwhelmed when I had my first notification for having over 200 thousand impressions. You really think: This is it I’m going to sell books! I was even stupid and booked paid ads on Twitter with, no surprise, absolutely no result. Two and a half years later I’m no longer impressed by accounts with over 100 thousand followers because I know that many of the profiles are fake. The number doesn’t mean a thing. I’m no longer impressed by the number of impressions. To be honest, I don’t care at all. In fact, I don’t even remember when I last checked my analytics. So, I have decided to only be on Twitter once a week instead of daily. Mainly to block inappropriate followers and follow followers and unfollow unfollowers. I’m also tired of liking and RT for others. It is extremely time consuming and I know that people only return the favor when you are supportive, which is ok. I did it in my first year and it didn’t help increase sales either.

My Pros and Cons About Facebook: I joined the Facebook author community a year after Twitter. I actually forced myself to do it. Once I realized that Twitter wasn’t working for me sales-wise, I had to try out other ways.

My Pros and Cons About Instagram: As I said, I only joined the world of Instagram recently. But I absolutely love it. Because it’s opposite to Facebook and Twitter; it is actually inspiring. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. This is so true. I love photography and get so many ideas by other people’s posts. I love how authors get creative and let their books shine in the spot light in the most unusual ways. Some people really do have creative and original ideas. It’s just amazing. What I don’t like about Instagram though, is that many people and authors only follow one to unfollow again. This is quite ridiculous and rude. But that’s just the beginning of a new journey, so I can’t say much. But for now, it is the only app that I have installed on my phone! Time will tell

PUBLISHING Authors please STOP selling yourself short! When was the last time you got something good for free? Nothing good is free, right? When was the last time you got your coffee (priced less than two dollars) for free? When was the last time you got a cigarette (priced less than two dollars) for free? When was the last time you had fast-food (priced less than five dollars) for free? As you see, not even the worst things that poison our body and destroy our health are offered for free. At least not 365 days a year! Another question: Would you work 365 days a year without being paid? Clearly not! Why do I ask you these silly questions? Don’t worry; I have my reason, please keep reading. I just don’t know where to start to make my point. Well, let me start with this. I remember, when I was in my twenties, how I worked for free on several projects and I did this for many years. You wonder why? Because I was happy to get some work experience in my field of interest even though I was unemployed and desperately looking for a paidjob!

Would I do it again? No! Why? Because the people you do this for don’t appreciate the time, the effort, the passion, and the love you invest in whatever you are doing. Making experience is one thing; being used and acting stupid and desperate another. Once I realized that my hard work was unappreciated, I stopped working on such projects until last year. Yes, last year. I was stupid enough to repeat my mistake after fifteen years. Despite me being busy with writing my books, designing my collections, and working on my blogger magazine Read My Mind, I decided to be active as a lyricist as well. I wanted to support a singer that I had discovered through social media and his participation in an international music contest. Back in 2002 I had done the same. Only then I was the project manager. I wasn’t writing songs at that time.

The singer was a talented Swiss singer who had been on world tour with international bestselling artists. I had invested more than a year of time and effort and despite making it to the semi-final of the national show the singer didn’t participate at the final live show. So, all my hard work was for nothing. You wonder why he didn’t participate? Well, it’s all written in my memoir Definition of Freedom. Ever since this huge disappointment and emotional setback I felt that I had unfinished business and I wanted to prove to myself that I could achieve my goal and participate at this contest successfully. Despite my motivation and effort, though, this time we didn’t even make it to the national show because the singer who I was supporting turned out to be a dishonest, ungrateful, and rude man. And yes, I learned my lesson and realized that while talent is one thing, attitude and character are everything. I also accepted the fact that music had never brought luck in my life. So, I stopped the project after wasting months of preparation and we didn’t even participate. What I’m trying to say is: When you work with people and offer your service for free, they take advantage and treat you badly. And it is the same with offering your book for free! When I see how authors are ruining the industry it makes me sad. It makes me furious. Why on earth do you spend hours, days, weeks, months or years on working on your babies and then offering them for free on Amazon? I think it is kind of selfish to publish free books and be happy about the number of free downloads and a few reviews while other authors are struggling to make a living out of it. I understand that authors offer their work for free to get reviews. I also understand that authors who write a series of books offer the first one for free to find their readership and make their readers want to buy the follow-up stories. I also understand authors do giveaways for special occasions, such as Christmas, to find new readership. But I have no understanding for authors who only offer their work for free just to be on the top of the Amazon Kindle download ranking list. I don’t have understanding for authors who participate at book contests and call themselves

award-winning and bestselling authors while they are earning zero. I really have to ask: Who are you kidding? Is being listed as a bestselling author (with free books) and being titled as bestselling and/or award-winning authors paying your bills? Let’s face it fellow authors, reality is that we are all sitting in the same boat. We all are trying hard to find our readers. So please stop selling yourself short. Stop being happy about free downloads. Stop feeling a sense of achievement when you offer your hard work for free and are on the top of the Amazon Kindle download ranking list. PLEASE STOP valuing yourself and your books so short! If you are doing promotions, then at least do it for a day or as a holiday promotion. But even then, not for free! Offer it for at least $0.99! By offering your work entirely free you are doing nothing but ruining the publishing industry! This is a hard path that we have all chosen. We all are talented, passionate, and trying hard to be recognized and that’s why I don’t understand your selfish behaviour. Sorry friends and fellow authors, what you’re doing is self-deception! If you are honest with yourself, you know very well that your work deserves more than a free download! You have devoted precious time, creativity, your heart, soul, and mind in a product and now you are willing to sell it for free! Why would you do that? Again, why do you sell yourself so short? This is nonsense and not fair to your commitment and not fair to your baby! I get it that many independent authors out there are writing and publishing books only as a hobby. They have their daytime jobs and monthly income. But what about authors like me who are trying hard to make a living with writing? You are destroying the market for full-time authors! We all work for months or even years on our books and we all agree that illegally downloading books is a crime. In my opinion, so is offering your books for FREE! Sometimes people just need more time to decide if and when they want to read your books. So dear friends and fellow authors, lets support each other instead of destroying the industry! We all know that it takes hundreds to thousands of readers until an indie author actually makes any profit! It’s time for action! Respect yourself and respect your hard work. Respect your babies!

Authors take better care of your Time, Mind, Body & Soul! This summer I was faced with an unexpected health issue that reminded me once more how precious life and time are. I realized that I had been wasting too much time in the previous four years promoting my books, audiobooks and collections on social media rather than taking good care of myself in mind, body and soul. Thank God what first seemed to be cancer turned out to be a harmless but, nevertheless, very painful tumor. It definitely was a wakeup call. I had to get it removed and after my surgery I couldn’t use my right arm for weeks and wasn’t able to type or lift heavy things. During my recovery I decided to limit my time on social media to a maximum of 15 minutes a week. At first, it seemed strange not to post anything on IG, Facebook and Twitter. But after a while I was happy and free. Writers spend so much time on the computer. Spending too many hours sitting at the desk is probably THE worst thing we can do to our body. We destroy every single bone and muscle and don’t realize the after-effect until it is too late.

Writers also spend too much time on social media specifically. Thinking that it is a must-do if we want to be seen and successful. But fellow authors, it is so important to get out and do sport activities. My mum and I have always been very active. In the past we have been in the gym two or three times a week, and we always enjoyed Box Aerobic or as they also call it Tae Bo. But ever since I joined the writer’s world, I have been lazy and not really kind to my body. What a huge mistake! So, I remind and encourage you here and now to be more aware of your time at the desk. Be more aware about your time on social media. Go out and live in the real world instead of living in your books and your imaginary world. Go out and spend time with real people instead of so called social media friends. Life is too precious. Time is too precious. The world will go on with or without our books. The world will go on with or without our posts and tweets. Making memories and enjoying every single day to the fullest is more important than the number of your book publications, sales and downloads and the number of your social 17 media followers and likes! 17

I'm the rights holder. I have the final say! Do you remember my article about producing audiobooks in the Read My Mind Winter Issue 2017? I shared my experience from A to Z and was very excited about this new adventure. It’s a year later, and I have to say I’m still excited. It really is a great feeling and experience to hear your written words as an audiobook.

I’m glad that I made this decision because once Bon Voyage was finally available, I was faced with an unexpected surprise.

But when it comes to distribution, I had a bad experience. My initial excitement was soon over when I realized that I, the right holder of my work, have no say when it comes to pricing my product. It took months until my audiobook Bon Voyage was finally accepted by ACX, the daughter company of Amazon, who’s responsible for audible.com and itunes.com.

One would think that I, as a self-published author and the rights holder of my work, would have the final say. However, according to Audible and iTunes–NO I don’t!

While other online stores such as Google Store, Audiobooks.com, Nookaudiobooks.com and a few more accepted my two audiobooks right away, ACX and Amazon made it unnecessarily difficult. Several technical reasons later my audiobook BON VOYAGE was finally available in these two stores. I only offered Bon Voyage first so I could see how it went, before selling my other audiobook Teddy & Lily on audible.com and itunes.com.

Read My Mind - The Best of Lily Amis 2018

When I finally received my first monthly sale report, I realized that even though I priced my product these two stores made their own price.

Listen, producing audiobooks isn't cheap, and I must have the control over my product price to make sure that I’m able to return my investment within a short amount of time. So, they left me no other choice. I had to remove Bon Voyage from these platforms. It took multiple requests to ACX for the removal, but now it’s done!

So, if you decide to produce audiobooks be aware that you don’t have the final say about the pricing, and be careful with the choice of your distribution channels.

Free Giveaways ruin the Book Industry Ever since I joined the writer’s community, I keep saying the same thing over and over again. Authors, please stop selling yourself short. Authors, please don’t giveaway your babies for free. Why is no one listening? Indie authors don’t realize how they ruin the industry by offering free books. Tell me another industry that is working hard for months or even years and is offering their product or service completely free? Give me just one example! Well, there isn’t! Musicians and artists would never offer their music or art for free; if they do, then it’s only because they have other channels of income, such as live concerts, merchandising, paid interviews etc. But what other channels of income have authors except their books? I understand if you offer one short story for free. I understand if you offer free read samples of your work, but offering an entire book for free is just mind-blowing and nothing but book suicide! I get it that many authors do that in hope to receive reviews, but let’s face it, anyone who gets anything for free doesn’t appreciate it, let alone review it. The more people pay for something the more they appreciate and cherish it. Having said that this May, I tested a new selling channel for myself. From May through July 2018

I organized three Group Giveaways on instafreebie.com aka prolificworks.com. Instafreebie started its business four and a half years ago with one primary goal: to make it easier for readers to download free eBooks. Something that I’m strictly against. . According to their information, over 35 million free eBooks have been claimed to this date. They want us authors to believe that their service is helping us because it makes it easier for authors to spread their work to the world. Yes, it makes it easier for us to be the fools, who offer our hard work for free for nothing in return! The only one who is benefiting from this platform are readers and this company, which was rebranded on October 1st as Prolific Works! Opportunity were my Group Giveaway titles. Many fellow authors joined my group giveaway. Our most successful one was Books about Friendship & Loyalty with over 2300 claims in this period of time. Unlike most authors, I didn’t offer ALL my books for free. I only did it with one short story Peanut & Lily and I was hoping that I would at least get a few reviews.

In total, my little book was downloaded 820 times. Many authors who pay a monthly fee on instafree.com offer their work on this platform to get more newsletter subscribers. Well, sorry but I’m not willing to pay twenty dollars a month to get email addresses of people, who will unsubscribe again shortly after they get their free copy. This is crazy and doesn’t pay off at all. Now imagine how it felt when I saw the number of claims rising. My free book was downloaded 160 times. One would think that it would at least get one single review! Well, it didn’t. One would think that the number of sales would rise after readers download my free read

samples; well, it didn’t. How do I know? Easy! For every book title I offered a special discount code on Smashwords.com. And not one single code was used and I doubt that any of these readers has downloaded the eBook without using the discount code. So, there you go again. We authors are always the losers. Only platforms like instafreebie.com benefit from our work by getting email subscribers. Our time, hard work, passion, dedication and determination are worth nothing! Do you think that’s OK? I did this experiment to be able to review platforms like this one; and I still have the same messages – Authors PLEASE STOP ruining the book industry!

Caught in a Circle of Illusion – Instagram In the previous issue of Read My Mind I had an article saying Authors, don’t let the Social media numbers fool you. I shared my experience from my previous years on Twitter and Facebook and said that I was going to give Instagram and its writer community a try. Back then I was very enthusiastic and optimistic about this new adventure! Months later I came to the same conclusion: It is nothing but a waste of life’s precious time! Don’t get me wrong, I truly enjoy preparing the images and trailers for my posts, but again, why am I on Social media? Oh right, to promote AND also to sell my work. Do Likes and comments pay my rent? No! Did the number of my book and audiobook sales rise because of my colorful promotion posts? No! I joined Instagram in November 2017 and by end of March 2018 I knew this was going nowhere saleswise. You wonder how I know that my sales are not connected to my Instagram posts?

Simple, my sales are coming from stores that I intentionally never mention in my IG posts. Connecting with new authors from across the globe might be interesting and inspiring, but again that’s not the reason why I spent hours on post preparation. To make sure that my conclusion was right I offered three generous giveaways when I reached 1000 Instagram followers. I wanted to see if these followers, who are liking and commenting my posts, would actually be happy about a free eBook and audiobook! I made a giveaway to fifteen followers and guess what? Only one fellow author cared to download my eBook! Totally disappointed, I’ve decided to give the platform a last try on Easter. I asked my followers to support my Teddy Charity Project. I was going to give a free copy of my eBook Teddy & Lily to everyone who would donate at least one dollar to my campaign on gofundme.com, plus a free copy of one of my short stories, plus the chance to win a signed copy 22 of my memoir Destination Freedom.

I even offered international shipping! But again, only one author cared to re-post my post and support my charity. This experience was a wake-up call and I finally realized that I’m only wasting my time. While this platform is helpful for other authors, it clearly isn’t helpful for me and I won’t recommend it to aspiring authors. Instead I would say: Invest your time wisely and be always aware of why you are doing what you are doing! Ask yourself why you are spending hours on social media while you could spend it in your writing or with your loved ones? Remember the real people that are actually with you, know you, and care about you and not the ones that are in the world of illusion–the World Wide Web. I would say instead of wasting life’s precious time on social media, read books or learn a new language. I recently read an interesting article about a young and successful Instagram influencer who has deleted her account and has felt a sense of relief ever since. I totally understand these young people. Once you are on these platforms, you easily get addicted to it. It becomes a bad habit and you feel obligated to post something, be there, and like and comment on other’s posts. But trust me, life goes on with or without social media.

Another interesting article I read was about a study by the British Royal Society for Public Health. They made a study called Status of Mind in cooperation with Young Health Movement and looked closely at five popular social media platforms with 1,500 users ages 14 to 24. They have studied their mental and psychological behavior and came to the conclusion that Instagram, with over 800 billion users, can cause mental illness. According to this study YouTube is the least dangerous platform of all. This is something to think about regarding your own and your children’s behavior on social media. Think of your social media sites, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., as a big cocktail party where people (whom you don’t know at all) pop in to see what’s going on. People don’t show up at cocktail parties to buy products. They usually only come to socialize, chat, make small talk, gossip and show off then leave as quickly as they came. If you’re one of those people, good for you. Then you are at the right place because you don’t expect to sell your work. Listen, I never was a fan of cocktail parties and shallow conversations and never will be. Therefore, don’t expect to see me around much. And please don’t take it personal when I don’t comment, like or share your posts!

Order in Print 23

PUBLISHING Fiction Verses Non-Fiction During the holiday season I admittedly enjoyed watching a few cheesy holiday movies from the Hallmark Channel. A channel that describes itself as the destination for quality family entertainment. The channel is also dedicated to helping viewers celebrate life’s special moments by offering annual holiday programs. Those who have read my column LILYWOOD know how much I appreciate the values of friendship and family. I enjoy watching family oriented, hopeful, funny, and positive movies, true stories, and history rather than violent, crime, nonsense, and horror movies. But I have to say this year after watching a few of these so called heartwarming movies I soon realized that the concept is always the same. A hardworking woman living in one of the stressful major cities in the USA, usually either New York or Los Angeles, visits a small town during the holiday season, finds true love, friends, and family and decides to stay there forever by giving up on everything that a major city has to offer. Although I’ve always lived in a city and never in a village, I

actually do believe that small places are more family oriented and personal. Many people living in big cities are job, money, power and success oriented. There is no doubt about that. And I do believe that people living in small towns are more kind, helpful, loving, and caring. At least that’s what I heard and hope. So, I fully agree with this message of the stories. What I don’t agree with, though, is that these movies make one believe that true love is around the corner and we just have to leave the city to find it! This is absurd. Seriously! I do ask myself why romance and fiction authors have to exaggerate so much. Why do they have to write such untrue stories and make us believe in things that simply don’t exist! Authors have a responsibility. Making up stories is one thing. Creating false hopes and dreams for lonely and isolated people who wish nothing but true love and family, especially during the holiday season, is false. Making people believe that miracles happen especially during the holiday season is thoughtless. Making movies that play with people’s desires is emotionally irresponsible.

While I was having all these thoughts I realized that, oh boy, ever since we begin to read books as children we are faced with untrue stories. The shinning prince saving a lonely and helpless girl is just one of many cheesy stories that only happen to a few women in life. Let’s face it how many women can say they found true love and married their prince charming? Also, why do children have to believe in Santa Claus? Who on earth came up with the idea to idealize an old, white-bearded man as the generous hero for all children while in reality the parents (these days mostly single parents) have to work their bum off to make money and buy Christmas gifts for their children. We all know life and reality suck sometimes. So, the question is how much can and should we sugarcoat while we are writing fictional stories? As a writer we hold a responsibility, don’t we? After all these decades where I thought we have to blame Walt Disney (the big dreamer) for all this nonsense, I recently found out that the sugarcoating started centuries before. If we want to blame anyone than we should blame the French author Charles Perrault. He lived from 1628 –1703 and laid the foundations for the literary genre, the fairy tale. According to Wikipedia “a fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features folkloric fantasy characters, such as dwarfs, dragons, elves, fairies, giants, gnomes, goblins, griffins, mermaids, talking animals, trolls, unicorns, or witches, and usually magic or enchantments.” Perrault is the author who created Cendrillon (Cinderella) and La Belle au bois Dormant (The Sleeping Beauty). Thanks to him millions of little girls grow up thinking and hoping that prince charming will come one day and make them the happiest girl on earth. Again, I have to say I find this irresponsible. You may read this now and say: Hey where do you live, Lily? There are princes and princesses. There are cheesy love stories even in our decade. Look at American television actress Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Well, I do look at them and all I see is an ambitious, hardworking, self-made actress, who’s giving up on everything she has achieved and become for “love”.

Let me tell you this, whenever someone gives up on everything for another person (regardless of name and position) the ending stinks. Sooner or later even Miss Markle will wake up and realize that life is not a fairytale. Giving up on your identity, personality, look, style, country, career, family and friends, goals, desires, and independence for love is nothing but giving up on yourself. Listen, I don’t know Miss Markle, but we share the same birthday and I tell you this: We Leos need our freedom. Nothing is as important and precious as freedom. Freedom is the key to our inner peace and happiness. Giving up on our freedom to end up in a golden cage is certainly not the key to happiness. Call me negative, but I know from my own life experience that people and life circumstance change, when you least expect it. Also, everything has an expiry date, even love.

Then one day you wake up and realize how naïve and blind you were to believe in fairytales and happy cheesy endings! You don’t believe me? Look at Princess Diana’s destiny. Look at Princess Margaret’s destiny. Look at Melania Trump’s destiny.

She left poverty in Slovenia to become Miss Trump on Fifth Avenue in New York to then move to the White House in Washington, DC with her broken English next to a narcissist unable to cope with her position as the first Lady of USA. You don’t have to be a psychologist to see the obvious, which is this woman is going through a tough time. She is living in misery. I guess she often asks herself how did I end up here! Reality stinks and the sooner we accept it the better. Therefore, dear authors be careful with your stories. Don’t play with readers desires. Don’t fool your readers. Please don’t forget that you are holding a big responsibility!

The Next Generation We should care about the next generation! We should do this for the next generation! We should do that for the next generation. We hold a responsibility for the next generation! Blah…blah…blah… How many times do we hear or read these statements in the media? Well, to be honest, I can’t hear it anymore. What about the generation now? What about the kids that are suffering today? What about the families that need our love, attention, compassion and support right now? Why do charities, political campaigners, world leaders, royals, and celebrities only focus on the next generation when the generation from today, right here and right now, needs our support the most? Didn’t we learn anything from the past? Didn’t we learn anything from history?

level of education, income, social class and status, nationality and country. One of the easiest ways to be helpful and caring is to be honest. Stop pretending. Stop lying and cheating. Stop being a taker. Stop using others for your own benefits. Stop manipulating people. Be thoughtful. Be giving. Be supportive. Be loving and caring. Stop using people’s weakness and emotional needs for your own benefits. How come being dishonest, rude, disrespectful and thoughtless is more convenient? Why have people forgotten the human values such as honesty, loyalty and integrity? If we don’t practice these values, how are we different from animals? Why are humans so selfish and shallow? Why do people treat each condescending? These are the questions that I ask myself daily.

There are many ways we can help each other–right here and right now–regardless of age, race, gender,

If our society really cares about the next generation, why do governments legalize drugs? Why is bureaucracy causing millions of families so much trouble and sorrow? Families are being separated because of ridiculous laws, discrimination and injustice. America’s new immigration law, the Mexican border issue, and Brexit are separating and destroying real families and creating skype-families instead.

Our society has changed drastically in the last two decades and to be honest I don’t like the direction that we are going. Our world is turning into a crazy, disorganized, immoral, selfish and superficial place. Nothing makes sense. The ones who are in power are nothing but selfish and self-obsessed pretenders. All they care about is their own benefit and greed for power and more money.

If our society really cares about the next generation, why is our society mainly focused on developing new technology while doing so little about humanity?

Speaking of the next generation, what about all the helpless war refugees’ and foreigners’ rights? What about their right to a decent life and an education for their children? What about their destiny with regard to the here and now?

Why on the one hand do we invest billions in research for HIV, cancer and other diseases while on the other hand we develop nuclear weapons to destroy the world and kill innocent people? Nothing and I mean absolutely nothing makes sense anymore. How come society is doing everything for gayrights, but so little for woman rights? These days you read more and more about the gay and transgender community, which is absolutely fine with me. Hey, I’m all for tolerance and acceptance, but I wish our society would also focus on other important issues such as single mothers and woman’s right in general. The #MeToo campaign was a good start. Let’s face it, it was time to make a change. But there are many more issues that woman have to deal with than sexual harassment. The traditional family concept (mum, dad and kid) is not in vogue anymore. Woman who wish to have a family but can’t find the right partner are forced to get pregnant with vitro fertilization from sperm donors while male gay couples are allowed to adopt as many children as they want.

The problem is that our society often forgets that we all are the same regardless of age, generation, level of education, salary, position, fame and number of followers on social media! We all are nothing but walking toilets. We have been and will always be unless we pull ourselves together and treat each other with respect, kindness and understanding. The sooner we learn to be kind and supportive to everyone now and here the better it will be for the current generation as well as for the next generation. To the world leader, lawmakers, governments, society, royals, and celebrities: Please stop making excuses by focusing on the next generation! If you mean what you’re saying, then do it now! Treat everyone equally regardless of faith and life story. Treat everyone with fairness, kindness and respect! The sooner you start the better, not only for the next generation but also for the generation of today!

Read My Mind - Summer Edition 2018

INSPIRATIONAL PEOPLE Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who Was the Most Energized Perfectionist Dreamer of All? We all have heard the stories of Snow White, Pinocchio, Bambi, Dumbo and Cinderella, right? And we all have enjoyed the stories as a child and, to be honest, we still do as adults! In my very first issue of Read My Mind I wrote an article about the two world brands, Adidas and Puma. I said that there are many international brands that we’ve grown up with, yet we don’t know the people and stories behind them.

Well, our summer issue this year is dedicated to family friendly entertainment and this company has been a household name for decades. That’s right— Disney!

What do you think when you hear Disney? My first thoughts are, of course, Mickey Mouse and Disneyland. I have only a few memories of my early childhood, but I do remember my first visit to Disneyland in California. For example, I remember the moment when Goofy hugged me. That was the best feeling ever. Walt Disney, born in Chicago on December 5, 1901, was the entrepreneur for family friendly entertainment with an eye for detail and perfection. While Walt Disney was the creative head behind the Disney’s Magic Dust, his brother Ray Disney was the businessman behind the magic world.

Read My Mind - The Best of Lily Amis 2018

The Disney studios broke international records at box offices in London, Paris and Sidney. Not only with the production of their cartoons, but also with their clever merchandising campaigns. Their success was a commercial triumph for every storyteller. Did you know that Walt Disney was given an honorary Master of Arts degree by both Harvard University and Yale University and a Master of Science from USC? Walt Disney was an enthusiastic dreamer, a caring son, and a loving and adored father who enjoyed reading bedtime stories to his two daughters. He was a kind man who loved spoiling his own children and millions of other children around the world. He shared his financial success with his loved ones, especially with his beloved parents. He and his brother Roy actually moved their parents to Los Angeles and bought them a house. They also organized a golden anniversary party for the couple. However, not everyone liked Walt Disney, and not all his employees agreed with Waltâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business style and wages. During their careers Walt and Roy had to fight many storms and overcome many struggles. The two brothers worked with musicians, dancers, cartoonist, animators and scientists in the Disney studios in Burbank California. One of those struggles was when 200 of his workers went on strike for weeks. Most of the striking employees were from the art department. They asked for higher salaries, extra payment for over-time, and screen credits. Negativity, anger, and frustration were in the air and made the Disney stocks fall drastically. He refused to negotiate and he left for South America. He stayed for weeks while Roy made peace with the employees. Eventually, the strikers were granted everything they asked for and business went back to normal. Although, the people around Walt Disney said he was never the same after the strike. His world of illusion was destroyed and he somehow felt betrayed by his employees.

Nevertheless, determination, hard work, devotion, confidence, faith and unselfishness made Walt Disney survive the strike, World War II and many financial obstacles and challenges during his entire life. Thanks to his strong character and beliefs Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California managed to be the king of family-friendly entertainment back then and still is today. Waltâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s excitement for new possibilities made him pursue his goals and big dreams. In the 1950s, Disney expanded into the amusement park industry; and in 1955 he opened the first Disneyland Worldwide, which brings me back to my previous article, The Fairytale King. Walt found his inspiration for the Cinderella Castle, the symbol for Disneyland, in King Ludwigâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s New Swanstone Castle in Bavaria, Germany. Walt believed that people not only enjoy watching cartoons and fairytales, but also would love to be part of it. And boy was he right. If he only knew how many Disneyland Resorts would be built after his death. Walt Disney succumbed to lung cancer on December 15, 1966 only ten days after his 65th birthday. He left a legacy for all of us, children and adults alike, by making his dreams a reality through perseverance and hard work. According to Wikipedia, Disney is a cultural icon that holds the record for the most Academy Awards earned by an individual; he won 22 Oscars out of 59 nominations. He was presented with two Golden Globe Special Achievement Awards and an Emmy Award, among other honors. Disney remains the central figure in the history of animation. Despite his critics, his vision of a modern corporate utopia as an extension of traditional American values has possibly gained greater currency in the years after his death. May his soul rest in peace!

Read My Mind - The Best of Lily Amis 2018

Visit Disneyland Paris 33

The Fairy Tale King Living in Europe definitely has its benefits. Living in Switzerland, which is located right in the heart of Europe and surrounded by historical and beautiful countries like Germany, Austria, France and Italy, makes it THE perfect place for traveling, sightseeing and discovering Europe. Today weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to take you to Germany. One of our favorite places of all is, without a doubt, Neuschwanstein Castle located outside of the major city of Munich. Munich is well-known because of its Bier gardens and the annual Oktoberfest, which ironically takes place in September. But Munich has much more to offer. Regardless of season Munich is a gorgeous place to visit because of its history. And one specific personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name and presence is still here even 132 years after his death in 1886. He is King Ludwig II of Bavaria or sometimes called the Swan King, Mad King Ludwig or the Fairy Tale King.

Although, growing up in a royal family was not as amusing as we imagine today. His father, King Maximilian, instructed him and his younger brother Otto in the burdens of royal duty beginning at an early age. He had not realized that both of his sons were quite introverted and sensitive.

Crown Prince Ludwig was in his 19th year when his father died and he ascended the Bavarian throne. Although he was not prepared for this high office, his youth and good looks made him very popular in Bavaria and he continued the state policies of his father and the Bavarian ministers. During his youth Ludwig initiated a lifelong friendship with his cousin, Duchess Elisabeth from Bavaria, later Empress of Austria. King Ludwig was never a fan of political matters and not keen on ruling his kingdom. He was too King Ludwig was born on 25 August 1845. He lived an sensitive and creative, preferring to live a private extravagant life in a wealthy family. life and spend his time in productive projects instead of war. His real interests were in art, 36 music, and architecture.

Read My Mind - The Best of Lily Amis 2018

Castle Neuschwanstein in Summer

There are many books written and many movies have been produced about King Ludwig II, but I honestly think none of it shows who he really was unless you visit one of his many homes. This man was truly blessed with taste. His sense for culture, art, architecture and design are truly timeless and breathtaking. So, it is absolutely no surprise that one of his homes, New Swanstone Castle, has become one of THE New Seven Wonders of the World. With 6000 visitors per day and around 1.3 million visitors per year, it also is one of the most popular and beautiful tourist destinations in Europe. My mum and I love baroque and we are fascinated by the taste and splendor of the European monarchies. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why we enjoy visiting European palaces and castles so much, and we have seen quite a few so far. Beautiful castles and palaces such as the Palace of Versailles and the apartment of Napoleon Bonaparte in Musee du Louvre in France, SchĂśnbrunn Palace in Austria, Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom and many more inspired us in the last decade for our home collections.

But New Swanstone Castle is incomparable to everything we have seen so far, though not because of its interior It is because of its astonishing location. New Swanstone Castle consists of several individual structures which were created over a length of 150 metres on the top of a cliff ridge. This amazing building in this breathtaking scenery is designed with numerous towers, ornamental turrets, balconies and sculptures. New Swanstone Castle was not King Ludwig II's only huge construction project. It was followed by the rococo style of Linderhof Palace and the baroque style Herrenchiemsee Palace. His smallest home, Linderhof Palace, was finished in 1886. Unfortunately, the other two remain incomplete. The King paid for all his construction projects by private means and from his civil list income. Contrary to frequent claims, the Bavarian treasury was not directly burdened by his buildings. The King saw his buildings as representatives of a romantic interpretation of the middle ages as well as the musical mythology of his good friend Robert Wagner, whose operas had made a lasting impression on him and in history...

nasSima design at Neuschwanstein Castle

nasSima design in the Linderhof Palace Garden

Castle Neuschwanstein in Winter

At the time of Ludwig's death in 1886, the New Swanstone Castle was far from complete and he had slept only 11 nights there. King Ludwig II was always a very private person and never intended to make the palace accessible to the public. Fortunately for us, less than six weeks after his death the Bavarian government opened the palace to paying visitors. From then until today his castles and palaces have become a large income source for the city of Munich. What a legacy! If you want to know who King Ludwig II was, forget the books documentaries about him. Visit his iconic castles and palaces and you will know who he was. I know that he didn’t make a secret of where he got his inspiration from. He was inspired by the French King Louis the 14th. Actually, one of his palaces, Herrenchiemsee, which is also located outside of Munich on an Island, is his copy of Palace of Versailles in France. His small palace, Linderhof, is our ultimate favorite palace of all. It is also located in the middle of nowhere surrounded by green scenery, but the interior is spectacular and that’s THE place where King Ludwig spent most of his life. That’s THE place where you feel his spirit. My mum and I always pay him our respect by visiting his grave which is in the heart of Munich. His tomb is located right in the city center, so when you visit Munich make time to visit King Ludwig II and his brother Otto at St Michael's Church. While his castles and palaces are inspiring, so is this beautiful church. King Ludwig II may have been just a King during his lifetime but his legacy makes him much more. The people from Munich and Bavaria still love and admire him to this day. He was truly one of a kind!

TRAVEL & HISTORY Inspirational Places The Kingdom of Italy Traveling is one of the most precious gifts you can give yourself that will inspire and educate your soul, which is what makes us who we are. Today I’d like to take you to one of the most beautiful countries in Europe, bella Italia. Each year Italy attracts millions of tourists from across the globe because of its culture, art, fashion, design, architecture, history, beauty, weather, and lovely food. There is so much to discover within its twenty regions. In this issue I like to take you to Tuscany. The great thing about Italy is that every major city is within driving distance of each other. So, if you decide to fly to Florence and stay there you can still visit other historical cities such as Rome, Venice, and Napoli within a day. If you love art galleries and museums, Florence is definitely a Must C place. When you walk in the centre of Florence you feel the history and can imagine personalities such as Michelangelo,

Leonardo da Vinci, and Galileo walking there centuries ago, which makes it more special. It’s like time traveling. I mean where else in the world can you visit Michelangelo and Galileo and see Leonardo da Vinci’s and Rafael’s work in one day? Only in bella Florence. The capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany is considered as the birthplace of the Renaissance with its turbulent political history involving families such as the Medici’s. Politically, economically, and culturally Florence was one of the most important cities in Europe and the world from the 14th to 16th centuries. In 1800 the city was even the Kingdom of Italy. In 1982 the historic centre of Florence was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and due to Florence's artistic and architectural heritage, it has also been ranked by the American business magazine Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. 44

What makes Florence so special is without a doubt its historic personalities that are still with us to this date like master of art Michelangelo. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni is best known by his first name Michelangelo. He was born in March 1475 and died in Rome in February 1564 at the age of 88. He was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. He was considered the greatest living artist during his lifetime. He has even been described as one of the greatest artists of all time. Michelangelo is best known and respected worldwide for two of his sculptures, the Pietà and David and his most influential frescoes in the history of art: the Scenes from Genesis on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, and The Last Judgment located on the wall at the back of the altar at the Sistine Chapel. Did you know that Michelangelo was the first Western artist whose biography was published while he was still alive? Did you know that Michelangelo lost his mother when he was six years old? Did you know who his rival was? (I answer this later.)

Did you know that there is the rumor that he was gay? He never married and had no children. I read somewhere that he was a melancholy person. Like many great artists he was more a private and shy person. Well, whether he was gay or straight, a loner or not, he was a genius. When you stand before the statue of David you realize what a fantastic sculpture it is. Pictures can’t express the beauty of this masterpiece. I personally have never seen anything as perfect as the David sculpture, but the Pieta in the Vatican in Rome is a very close second. Unbelievable what a timeless masterpiece a human can create with his hands. As I said earlier, Michelangelo had a rival. And it was none other than the great Leonardo Da Vinci. The two didn’t get along at all. It is incredible how jealousy can separate people from one another. Each of these personalities had their own talent. Both were genius in their field and yet they envied each other despite their twenty-three-year age difference. Michelangelo could have easily been Leonardo’s son.

I actually think it is a shame that they didn’t become friends. Imagine what the two could have achieved if they worked together on a project! Oh Lord! Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, best known as Leonardo Da Vinci or simply Leonardo was born in April 1452 and died at the age of 67 in May 1519. Leonardo’s areas of interest included invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, writing, history, and cartography. What a wide field of interest, right? Leonardo, also known as the Universal Genius or the Renaissance man, was and is primarily known as a painter. The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper and the Vitruvian Man are his most famous paintings of all time. But when you visit the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum in Florence you find out that he was much more than that. The museum is very small, don’t expect too much. But it is inspiring especially for those who are interested in science and mathematics. He conceptualized flying machines, solar power and much more, long before they came into existence.

Don’t forget we are talking about the late 1400s to early 1500s. More than 500 years ago. Did you know that Leonardo was called a bastard because of his illegitimate birth? That he had a horrible childhood? And that he is also considered to have been gay? Like Michelangelo, he never married nor had any children. During my research I found out that Leonardo's remains were originally interred in the chapel of Saint-Florentin at the Chateau d'Amboise in the Loire Valley. Following the chapel's destruction in 1802 Leonardo's remains became subject to dispute. They had moved the remains to its present location in France. But there are doubts that the remains, interred at chapel of SaintHubert at the same castle grounds, are truly his. A plaque above his tomb states that the remains are only "presumed" to be those of Leonardo. In 2016 it was announced that DNA tests were to be conducted to investigate the veracity of the attribution with results expected in 2019. o Michelangelo died in Rome on 18 February 1564. His body was taken from Rome for interment at the Basilica of Santa Croce, fulfilling the maestro's last request to be buried in his beloved Florence.

Only three days before Michelangelo’s death a man named Galileo Galilei was born on 15 February 1564. He was an Italian polymath. Galileo is a central figure in the transition from natural philosophy to modern science and in the transformation of the scientific Renaissance into a scientific revolution.

Galileo is best known for his work as astronomer, physicist, engineer, philosopher, and mathematician. He has been called the "father of observational astronomy", the "father of modern physics", the "father of the method”, and even the "father of science". Galileo fathered three children out of wedlock. He had two daughters and a son. Because of their illegitimate birth, their father considered the girls unmarriageable. Their only worthy alternative was the religious life. Both girls were accepted by the convent of San Matteo and remained there for the rest of their lives. His son on the other hand was later legitimised as the legal heir of Galileo and married. Galileo died after suffering fever and heart palpitations in January 1642 at the age 77.

Today one would think what a selfish father. His poor daughters. But I guess that was common back then. As you see, there is so much to discover about history when you visit the gorgeous city of Florence. For me personally these are the Must C places in Florence: Florence Cathedral, Uffizi Gallery (Original Venus by Rafael and many more artists), Ponte Vecchio Bridge, Santa Croce, Galleria dell Academia (David statue), Palazzo Medici, House of Dante.

When you walk around in Florence you will see there are plenty of small shops with either typical Tuscany porcelains or leather products. Expensive but all in high quality and made in Italy. The people are very friendly and helpful. With English you won’t have any problem. You feel immediately welcome and at home. And if you like to stay there to learn Italian I recommend the Monnalisa School, which is right in the heart of the city.

INSPIRATIONAL PEOPLE Meet Maria Montessori Do you remember your school time? Do you remember your favourite teacher and what subject you enjoyed the most? I’m sure you do. You definitely remember the subjects you didn’t like so much or even hated, right? Let’s face it, not all of us have good memories of our school days. I have really good ones of my first years because I loved my teacher in Teheran. She was lovely and kind. But I also have horrible memories of school because I disliked my teacher at the secondary school in Zurich, Switzerland. But to be honest, I really did despise this man. He was a terrible teacher because he made his students believe that we were stupid and worthless. But schooling time is the most important time in a kid’s life. These years make us who we are later and helps to determine what we achieve in our professional life. The sooner we understand and discover our strengths the sooner we become independent and happy as adults. The faster we know what we like and dislike the better because than we know who we are and what we want to do for living. Not all of us can be good in every subject. We are all individuals and no one is perfect at all subjects and that’s fine. There are many world-renowned successful people, like Albert Einstein for instance, who were not good students.

Unfortunately, many teachers focus mainly on the weakness of a child and not his/her strengths and passions. Instead of encouraging us to become better in the subjects that we love and are good at, they discourage us by focusing on the subjects that we are terrible at and hate. This is absolutely a waste of time and counterproductive. Maria Montessori, an intelligent and educated lady born in Italy, had already discovered this in the 1800s. She was a physician and educator best known for the philosophy of education that bears her name, and her writing on scientific pedagogy. A single mother whose educational method is in use today in many public and private schools throughout the world. After graduating from the University of Rome in 1896, Maria Montessori continued with her research at the University's psychiatric clinic, and in 1897 she was accepted as a voluntary assistant. As part of her work, she visited asylums in Rome where she observed children with developmental disabilities. These were observations which were fundamental to her future educational work. Maria Montessori grew up in a time when teaching was one of the few professions for educated women, and her father encouraged her to follow that path.

Montessori, however, showed from an early age that she was an independent and confident woman and insisted on attending a prestigious school.

It is no surprise that to this date her schooling method is being used in a number of countries throughout the world.

After getting her degree in engineering, her interests changed. She decided she wanted to study biology and medicine to become a doctor, which at that time was unthinkable and almost impossible for women.

Children in America, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, and even China and India benefit from her fantastic schooling system. Isn’t it ironic that Maria Montessori didn’t follow her father’s wishes to become an ordinary teacher and instead decided to study medicine and psychology? If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have had all the experiences that she did and wouldn’t have been able to develop the Montessori schooling method years later. This shows that we all should listen to our own mind and follow our own goals.

But she achieved her goal and was the first female medical student in Italy. In the year of 1896, Maria Montessori became the first woman in Italy to receive the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the University of Rome. She later began to travel throughout Europe as an advocate for working women. Her observations during her medical practice led her analyze children’s learning processes and she came to the conclusion that children build themselves based on what they see in their environment. In 1901, Montessori began to study psychology and philosophy and in 1904 she became a professor of anthropology at the University of Rome. Two years later she resigned from her medical practice to work with a group of children using what ultimately became the Montessori Method of education.

If Maria Montessori didn’t follow her desires she would have been a random teacher, like many women at that time, and I wouldn’t be writing an article about her schooling method today. Thanks to her so many children around the world can benefit from her schooling method and enjoy school and find their passion and fate. God bless her soul.

Casa dei Bambini, meaning “children’s house” was based on her studies and observations of children’s ability to learn a lot from their surroundings. Initially she used educational materials by Edward Sequin, a French physician and educationist. Based on his schooling materials she designed and established her own schooling system for teaching developing children. She realized the most important issue used in her schooling method was that a teacher’s job was to help the natural process of development in a child. Every child is different and every child has different desires, needs, and interests. Thankfully this amazing woman with six nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize in a threeyear period (1949-1951), who was also on the ₤1000 banknote (1990–1998), traveled around the world for the next forty years until her death in 1952. She became an advocate for better education and the rights of children.

Picture Source: By scan by F l a n k e r - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18619931

INSPIRATIONAL CHILDREN BOOK AUTHOR Meet author Carlo Collodi the Creator of Pinocchio One writer’s work will immediately catch your attention when you visit Tuscany: Carlo Lorenzini, who used the pseudonym Carlo Collodi. Worldwide he is probably the most popular Italian children’s book author because of his lovely fairy tale novel The Adventures of Pinocchio. My favourite children’s book series of all time. Everywhere you go in Tuscany you discover merchandising highlighting little Pinocchio. Pinocchio is a cultural icon and one of the most reimagined characters in children's literature. The fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel The Adventures of Pinocchio was a puppet sculpted by a woodcarver named Geppetto. Geppetto was an old and lonely man who didn’t want to be lonely anymore. He wanted to have a son to look after. Pinocchio’s character is best known for his long nose. Every time he tells a lie his nose starts to grow. Well, I wish this would happen to humans as well. Imagine how wonderful and peaceful our world would become if our world leaders (mainly powerhungry, selfish, male narcists) would stop lying. Sadly lying has become a worldwide social disease. Regardless of age, gender, country, language, education, intelligence, and social class people lie about almost everything on a daily basis. That’s the reason why I love and adore Pinocchio’s story so much.

It educates us that lying is wrong. It shows that if you have a conscience, you should always be honest to yourself and to others. Therefore, it was clear that I had to dedicate an article to my favourite children book author in Read My Mind’s spring issue, when I’m writing about the beauty of Tuscany and Florence and personalities such as Michael Angelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Galileo, and Maria Montessori. Carlo Lorenzini was born in Florence in November 1826. He spent most of his childhood in the town of Collodi where his mother was born. During the Italian Wars of Independence in 1848 and 1860 Collodi served as a volunteer with the Tuscan army. His interest in politics made him found two satirical newspapers. The first one was Il Lampione in 1853 and his second newspaper called Lo Scaramuccia, "The Skirmish", was established in 1854. In 1875, Carlo Collodi entered the world of children's literature by translating fairy tales written by the French author Charles Perrault. After writing several pedagogic series he became fascinated by the idea of writing stories using an allegory. An allegory is a metaphor whose vehicle may be a character, place, or event representing real-world issues and occurrences. That was probably the birth moment of Pinocchio.

In 1880 Collodi began writing The Story of a Marionette, also named as Le Adventure di Pinocchio, which was published weekly in Il Giornale per i Bambini, the first Italian newspaper for children. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find out much about Carlo Collodi’s personal life. I have no idea if he was ever married and had children of his own or not. All I know is that Collodi has left something meaningful for generations. Thanks to Walt Disney the wonderful character of Pinocchio will never be forgotten.

What I found interesting during my research about Carlo Collodi was the information that it is difficult to recreate Collodi’s writing style in any other language. Apparently, so much of what’s great about the original humor and joyfulness in the rich Italian language gets lost in the translation. I also read somewhere that he was not happy about being a children’s book author. He saw himself as an Italian Shakespeare and wanted to write important works for adults. Supposedly he felt that his talent was wasted as a children’s writer. Nevertheless he is my favourite children book author of all time. I actually plan to visit his grave on my next visit to Florence to pay my respects. I may also visit the Parco di Pinocchio (Pinocchio Park). It is located in Collodi, a country village situated between the cities Lucca and Florence in Tuscany. It is recommendable to rent a car or reach the city of Pescia by train and then catch a bus to Pinocchio Parks! Carlo Collodi had borrowed his pen name from that town in order to honor his past, his family, and the village. The city of Collodi has dedicated an amusement park to the writer and his wooden puppet, Pinocchio. God bless his soul!

Read My Mind - The Best of Lily Amis 2018

Read My Mind - Winter Edition 2018

Visit Austria and travel back in time What do you know about Austria? Who are the first celebrities that come to your mind when you hear Austria? For us, my mum and I, Austria is one of the most beautiful German-speaking countries in Europe. Cities like Vienna and Salzburg are a must-see for anyone whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interested in culture and history. Austria is characterized by its gorgeous mountain villages and breathtaking baroque architecture. Looking back at history, Austria is THE first country, after Germany, when we think back at World War II. What many people forget is that Adolf Hitler was actually Austrian and not German. During my research I realized that there are really not many celebrities in our decade now that represent this lovely country.

When it comes to movies, then of course everyone knows Austrian actor and former Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger. And when it comes to music, Austrian artist Conchita Wurst, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, made Austria popular again. Visiting this historical country is like time traveling. It is such an adventure to visit places like Salzburg, where every spot in the city still reminds one of the Hollywood classic movie The Sound of Music with the beautiful and talented British actress Julie Andrews. As a kid, I used to watch this movie over and over again. I could never imagine that one day I would be able to visit this gorgeous city with my mom and see all the filming locations, including the chapel in which the couple married.

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By the way, did you know that the Hollywood production was an adaptation from the original German production Die Trapp Familie from 1956? Unlike the American musical drama film production in 1965, the German production is more likely based on the true story and less glamourous. The story also shows the obstacles and challenge of this family faced when they enter the USA as refugees and their first year in New York. The land of opportunity has been anything but welcoming to this helpless but talented family. So, if you have the chance to watch the original film on DVD, please do so. It is really eye-opening and proves that refugees have never been welcome anywhere, not even in America.

Another historical person that is with you during your visit in Salzburg is, of course, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the influential composers of classical music to this decade. You can still visit Mozart’s birthplace and home and see original furniture and personal belongings dated between 1756 and 1791 in the heart of the city. In my next article I tell you more about this genius.

The top Must C’s in Salzburg are: The Salzburg Cathedral, Mirabellgarten, Salzburg Residenz, St Peter's Abbey, Plaza de Mozart, Mozart's birthplace, Mozart’s Wohnhaus and Judengasse. Vienna, THE favourite city of all from my beloved grandfather, is the capital city of Austria and home to the Schönbrunn and Hofburg palaces. Once you enter these baroque palaces, you forget time and dive into another world. You really do. You don’t believe me? Well, fly over to Vienna and visit these amazing palaces and you will understand what I mean. For us, these two palaces are the most beautiful ones we have ever seen to this date. What we also love to visit in Vienna are the small baroque chapels in the heart of the city. In Vienna everything still reminds one of its imperial history. To be honest, on my first visit there I was a bit afraid of being reminded of the Second World War. At some locations in the city you really are back in time and relieve a most horrible and humiliating time of human history.

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But thank God not everywhere, because Vienna has so much more to offer. The city has counted Mozart, Strauss, Freud and Gustav Klimt among its residents. Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis. Gustav Klimt was an Austrian painter and best known for his painting The Kiss. Johann Strauss was an Austrian composer and best known as The Waltz King. In my next article I tell you more about this genius as well. Whether you are a fan of the monarchy or not, you surely have heard about the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg, Maria Theresa. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan and a few more countries. By marriage, she was also the Duchess of Lorraine, Grand Duchess of Tuscany and Holy Roman Empress.

Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, had eleven daughters, including the Queen of France, the Queen of Naples and Sicily, the Duchess of Parma. They also had five sons that included two Holy Roman Emperors, Joseph II and Leopold II. Best known are Empress Elizabeth, also called Empress Sisi, and her husband, King of Austria, Franz Joseph I. Vienna is still dedicated to this couple and they are with you everywhere. Everything reminds one of the glamourous times back in history. Through her marriage to the Habsburg Emperor Franz Joseph I, Sisi became suddenly the young Empress of Austria, which at that time included reign over large portions of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Italy and, only a few years later, Queen of Hungary. By the way, she was also a cousin of King Ludwig II, also known as the Swan King from Bavaria.

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Elisabeth is still THE empress of hearts. As a child, she was given the nickname “Lisi” (short for Elisabeth). The name “Sisi” later emerges to “Sissi,” a result from the Romy Schneider movies, which we (living in the German speaking part of Europe) see on TV every year on Christmas and Easter holiday. And I literarily mean every single year. Find out more about this lovely film in my movie review LilyWood.

The top Must C’s in Vienna are: Schönbrunn Palace, Hofburg Palace, Belvedere Palace, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Stephansplatz, Mariahilferstrasse, Hundertwasserhaus, Spanish Riding School, Prater, Vienna State Opera, Museum of Natural History, Vienna City Hall, Tiergarten, City Park, Austrian Parliament Building, St. Peter's Church, Plaque Colum Statue, Sigmund Freud Museum and the Imperial Crypt. Speaking of the Imperial Crypt, also called the Capuchin Crypt, it is located right in the heart of Vienna under a very simple church. Actually, if you didn’t know, you would completely miss the building because unlike the other chapels in Austria it is very unimpressive, small and dark. You can visit Empress Elizabeth and King Franz Joseph I and their son Rudolf, Crown prince of Austria, who committed suicide and Ruler Maria Theresa. There are many more queens, kings, princesses and princes, including the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, Otto von Habsburg.

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Inspirational people in history Mozart & Strauss Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Strauss II lived in different centuries and yet the two Austrian men are the most inspirational musicians and composers to this date. Mozart was born in 1756 in Salzburg as the youngest of seven children. He is THE composer of the classical era and his influence is profound. He composed more than 600 works and is among the most popular of classical composers. In his early years, Wolfgang's father, Leopold, a German composer, conductor, teacher and violinist himself was his son’s only teacher. Along with music, he taught his children languages and academic subjects. Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed for the European royalty. He wrote his first symphony when he was only eight years old. Already as a young man he visited several European countries like Germany, France and Italy.

While visiting Vienna in 1781, he chose to stay in the capital city where he achieved fame but very little financial security. During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies and operas, which was sadly largely unfinished at the time of his death at the age of 35. The circumstances of his early death have been much mythologized.

When you visit Mozart's birthplace at Getreidegasse 9 in Salzburg, which is a museum today, you will discover many personal belongings. It truly is touching to see items like travel bags, diaries and letters with his handwriting, a hair brush and old and traditional medicine travel bags, etc. There is a second museum in Salzburg. It is Mozart’s home as an adult, again with personal belongings, furniture, etc. Mozart’s love life wasn’t easy. After a few heartbreaks and disappointments, he finally got married on 4 August 1782 in St. Stephen's Cathedral to Constanze, an Austrian singer.

The couple had six children, but only two survived infancy. Mozart’s entire life and tragic death are really worth reading and watching. I won’t say more; if you’d like to discover this truly gifted genius, I highly recommend watching the movie that Trevor has reviewed in this issue. It is one of our favourite movies of all time, and I’m happy that we bought it while we were visiting Mozart’s births house. We can watch it over and over again. Amazing story, excellent actors and great entertainment. Strauss was born in 1825 in Vienna. He was an Austrian composer of dance music. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, operettas and ballets. He was best known as "The Waltz King" and was largely responsible for the popularity of the waltz dance in Vienna during the 19th century.

Eventually Strauss Jr. became more successful than his father and was one of the most popular waltz composers of the era, touring Austria, Germany and Poland with his orchestra. In 1855 he even performed in Russia and returned there every year until 1865. Later, in the 1870s, Strauss and his orchestra even toured through United States. Strauss married three times. He stayed with his first wife until her death. The second marriage was only six weeks after her passing. The marriage itself was also short and forced Strauss to change his religion and nationality to be able to divorce his second wife. He married his third wife in August 1887. She encouraged his talent and made his talent flow once more in his later years, resulting in many famous compositions. Strauss was diagnosed with pleuropneumonia and died in June 1899 at the age of 73.

As opposite to Mozart’s father, Strauss’ father didn’t want him to become a musician at all but rather a banker. So Strauss Junior studied the violin secretly If you ever visit Vienna, make time to visit The Museum of the Johann Strauss Dynasty. It is the and when his father discovered his child’s secret, he told him that he was going to beat the music out of first museum in the world to present the family’s his boy. Strauss’ mother, on the opposite, supported history and the music of the entire Strauss family– her son’s talent and when his father left the family Johann Strauss, his brothers Josef and Eduard, as for his mistress, Strauss was finally able to well as his father. I hope this article inspired you concentrate fully on a career as a composer. The to listen to their music and read books about these Issue two amazingly inspiring people in history. intense rivalry between father and son until Winter Readlasted My Mind Thank you for your timeless music and God61bless his father’s death in 1849. 2018 your souls.

Read My Mind - Winter Edition 2018

Meet Artist Viktor Angelov When we visited Rome in June to sign my publishing contract for my memoir Destination Freedom, we had the pleasure to see the talented musician and violinist Viktor Angelov perform live next to the Pantheon. The beautiful sound of his violin was magical. We realized that many people, mostly tourists from all over the world, were mesmerized by the sound of his music. His charming and kind personality made him even more likeable. Once again, it showed us that while politics divide our world music unites us. It was amazing how young and old people from many different countries were enjoying the moment; everyone appreciated the wonderful sound of music that was like a healing balm for everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soul, enjoyed under the Italian sun. My mum and I immediately got Viktorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CD and are continuing to enjoy his music. For us the violin has an emotional meaning, and it was clear that we had to feature this fantastic artist from Macedonia in our blogger magazine.

Viktor, first of all, thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. It really is a pleasure to feature you in our latest issue.

While you are playing the violin do you realize how you touch peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heart? What do you feel in this moment? Allow me to thank you for bringing my voice to your readers. It is an infrequent opportunity for my followers to hear my words and not only my music. It is the best notion when you suddenly realize the level of impact your music has. And that is the change I feel while playing and performing. Most of the times I do not feel that I am playing, but actually having a dialog with the crowd. What amazes me the most is that people are reacting to my notes as if we are in a mutual positive conversation. It was the same feeling since the first day onwards when I started playing very spontaneously at the Salzburg square. I had the sudden urge to stop and start playing my version of the music that was echoing in my head for longer period of time. And in that moment, I knew I wanted to share those feelings, not knowing it shall provoke a change of crowd energy and receiving it back immediately. Once you feel the interaction and how jointly you are creating a cloud of emotions you cannot escape from that feeling.

You always urge to go back to the cloud and feel it again. You are originally from Macedonia and have been playing the violin since you were seven years old. Your father, who is a well-known local trumpet player, was your inspiration. So, what or who inspired you to play this beautiful but also very difficult instrument? I think I did not have much choice. In my family it was unthinkable not to have musical education. The Shinichi Suzuki quote very much explains the moto of my family: “Teaching music is not my main purpose. I want to make good citizens. If children hear fine music from the day of their birth and learn to play it, they develop sensitivity, discipline and endurance. They get a beautiful heart.” Following this, it was very likely for my sister to learn playing the piano, and for me, as with good hearing to learn the violin would be the best option. I can’t remember whether I had some affiliation towards it, but I know for sure that I fell in love from the moment I had it in my hands.

What do you enjoy playing the most and why? Classical, pop or electronic music? Classical music is my field of passion. The foundation of everything I know and my self-being. I can’t compare, I just find different fascinations. Electronic and pop music is near and closer to my lifetime experiences and what I find attractive here is the freedom in expression I have. It is unsettled, unpredictable and so youngish, it leads me to play in places that excite me. Yet, I do believe that as time goes by and I get older I shall be returning my spirits towards the classical music playing concerts due to calmness I feel deep into it. You have been working and studying music with established music professors from all over the world. What is your advice to young and aspiring musicians? Yes, I’ve had the privilege of learning from the best, but at the end it is you against the violin, or better to say it is your violin against the world. So perhaps, I would very much echo my story of my beginnings saying to young people: “Dare to play music in an unthinkable places not caring who listens to you”.

What is more exciting for you as an artist? Playing at the Symphony Orchestra or Philharmonic in front of a paying audience or free live street performances in European cities?

Dafadfd Ah, interesting question! Symphony orchestra – if I am obliged to choose. But street performances as well. Again, it is incomparable and each way you choose you shall not regret being part of it.

What is your goal as a musician/violinist? What would you like to achieve? Is there any living international artist/performer that you like to cooperate with?

Maybe if we could think from the aspect of being able to find your voice and individualism as a live street performer, but here and there you sometimes feel the need to find yourself within some structure. Being able to find your wright domicile where you feel as much as home is never ending quest. That’s how I see development in progress.

I aspire to make the public engaged in their happiness. It is then when I feel thrilled, overjoyed and full of energy. I do wish to explore more settings, i.e. countries, sites, and perform one day on a big concert scene to double the emotion feedback.

Have you ever thought about participating at a TV Talent show such as Britain’s got Talent or Das Supertalent in Germany? I actually think you would have good chances to win. Ha-ha, of course I have thought about it. Yet, there were plenty of obligations preventing me of taking this step forward: completing my education, commitments towards playing with different orchestras and with such an agenda you do not have time to go to auditions. And again, this now is a content-rich life and very much fulfilling for the time being. I would prefer to let this thought to be just wanderings of my mind until it develops itself as a plan.

And finally, this is a question that I ask all my featured authors and artists. What is your definition of love in three words? What is your definition of love in one sentence? Do we really need to have a definition of love, or is it that love is defining us?! To my my understanding I find craving for devotion, freedom to be yourself as you are and acceptance–is the most profound scope of what we need to call “Love”. But again, why we need to define terms? Just let the emotion (music) define you. Thanks again for inviting me to be a part of your magazine story. I do hope your readers will find this interview thought-provoking and shall explore 65 more about my music.

LILYWOOD MOVIE REVIEW 68

LilyWood Movie Review Sissi While I was browsing the internet for my Sissi film review, I read a few touching reviews on Amazon from viewers who got the DVD Collection. People on Amazon said things like “This is a classic. Having grown up in The Netherlands, this is what we watch every Christmas. Now in the US, I realized I missed it, so I bought this collection. I will definitely be watching it again every year!” or “Every year at Christmas, I saw Sissi. It is tradition in Germany. Now I can watch it here in USA, like I did back at home in Germany. It’s not Christmas without this movie. I love Sissi!” Or “I watched these movies with my mama as a child, when she was recently undergoing chemo therapy, I couldn’t leave the house, so I surprised her with this collection ... she loved it! I would totally recommend it to anyone who understands German.” I really couldn’t agree more. Whether you understand German or not, you have to watch this movie.

Read My Mind - The Best of Lily Amis 2018

According to my research, the DVD collection is definitely available with English subtitles. You have to know Christmas in the German part of Europe is Sissi time. Easter is Sissi time. German actress Romy Schneider really made an impressive starring debut in the delightful Austrian production. Filmed in 1955, Sissi was the first of a popular series of films showcasing Romy Schneider (17 years old) as young Empress Elizabeth from Bavaria and Austrian/German actor Karlheinz Böhm, who characterized Franz Josef (27 years old). The film chronicles the married life of a young empress as she tries hard to adjust to a formal and strict life in the palace and an overbearing mother-in-law. Though happily married to Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph, Sissi must endure the familial machinations of Franz's mother, Archduchess Sophie.

The film is bittersweet and cheesy. Romy Schneider is gorgeous. Karlheinz Böhm is very attractive and handsome. The costumes are glamourous and the filming locations in and outside are simply beautiful, especially if you like baroque, gold and glam. Even though historians say the story has nothing to do with reality and history, it still is a great family entertaining movie. It also is a must see for romance lovers. Every little girl likes to be a princess and many little boys like to be a prince or king. Well, this movie definitely shows that not everything that shines is gold. Life in the splendid palace is everything, but admirable for Sissi. Romy Schneider's characterization of Elisabeth (Sissi) is really great. Viewers fall in love with her sweetness from second one. It is no surprise that this movie is still so popular, even though Romy Schneider suffered under her role for her entire life. She used to complain in many of her interviews “I grow up and made so many great movies, but people still see me as Sissi”.

Read My Mind - The Best of Lily Amis 2018

Ironically, Karlheinz Böhm, who died in 2014 age 86, wasn’t happy about his role either. He also complained year by year, but for other reasons. He used to say: “Despite the annual airing of Sissi, we actors never saw a penny.“ Well, God bless their souls. The two are no longer with us, like many of the other great actors in this movie, but they still bring us joy on every holiday season.

MOVIE DVD DESCRIPTION PART 1- 3 Archduchess Sophie is looking for a wife for her son Franz Joseph, the Austrian emperor. Her choice falls on Princess Nene, the eldest daughter of her sister Ludovika. So that the trip to Bad Ischl has the appearance of a private visit, she comes with Sissi. Sissi, completely unaware, meets the emperor there and gladly accepts his invitation to walking. Franz Joseph is enraptured by her grace and beauty. But when Sissi learns of the planned engagement with Nene, she does not want to stand in the way of their happiness.

At the big reception, the Emperor only has eyes for Sissi and announcesâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;to the horror of his motherâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;the engagement with the Bavarian Princess Elisabeth. The wedding is approaching and Sissi is now floating down the Danube, awaited by Franz Joseph and the Viennese, who will give her a splendid reception.

PART 2:

PART 3: Archduchess Sophie still does not miss any opportunity to provoke tensions in the happy marriage of the Austrian imperial couple. While urgent state affairs arrest Franz Joseph in Vienna, Sissi travels to Hungary. With the support of her loyal Count Andrassy, Sissi manages to win the revolutionary Count Batthyani for the Austrian crown.

After the majestic wedding of the young Austrian Emperor, Franz Joseph, and the Bavarian Princess Meanwhile, Sophie informs her son of rumors Elisabeth, the mother of the monarch continues to that speak of an attentive tendency of Count attach great importance to the observance of the Andrassy to Sissi. The emperor does not believe a strict court ceremonial. This leads to growing word and approaches his wife. Serious lung tensions between Sissi and her mother-in-law. When disease forces Sissi to take a longer cure on the Sissi gives birth to a little princess, Archduchess island of Corfu. The reunion with Franz Joseph Sophie decides to raise the child herself. Franz becomes an official event. With a dazzling Joseph agrees and desperately Sissi seeks refuge performance on St. Mark's Square in Venice, the with her parents. Lovingly brought back to Vienna visit, which began under an unfavorable star, ends by the emperor, Sissi wins the fight for her daughter happily. but realizes, in view of the strained political situation with Hungary, that her personal wishes must be behind the fate of the country. In a Read Mytravel Mind Winter Issue triumphal procession, Franz Joseph and Sissi 2018 72 to Budapest.

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LILYWOOD MOVIE REVIEW

LILYWOOD Must C Movie Today I’d like to talk about my favorite Bollywood movie My Name is Khan starring the great and talented king of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan, and the beautiful actress, Kajol. The story is about an Indian Muslim man with Asperger's syndrome who takes the challenge to speak to the president of USA. I warn you this is one of those movies that you can’t watch without shedding tears. You simply can’t regardless of age, race, religion, and gender! Everything about this story touches your heart and soul. As a writer and advocate for honesty and loyalty, I not only love Shah Rukh Khan’s innocent and super honest character as Rizvan Khan, but also Shah Rukh Khan’s amazing acting. I think no one else could have played Rizvan’s character so believably. Shah Rukh Khan is brilliant. In my opinion, despite eleven nominations and ten wins, this movie and Khan’s acting deserved much more international credit. Yes, even the Oscar for acting, directing, and for the screenplay.

For those of you who dislike the typical, admittedly cheesy but hopeful, singing-dancing colorful love stories, I can assure you this film is different from everything you have seen from Bollywood. To this date I haven’t heard much about it on TV probably because of its intense and honest messages about discrimination, tolerance, and human rights. Even though this is a fictional story with fictional characters, it could have easily been based on a true story. San Francisco 2007, Rizvan Khan, a man with Asperger’s syndrome, believes that there are only two types of people in the world: the good ones who do good and the bad ones who do bad. That’s what his mother taught him from young age on. He is on his way to meet the president of USA. You wonder why? I’ll tell you why. He has a message for the president. His message is: “My name is Khan and I’m not a terrorist!”

Read My Mind - The Best of Lily Amis 2018

A short, but innocent and extremely meaningful, honest message, which makes him travel to several places across America for months only to meet the president eye to eye. I could tell you the whole story; but I won’t because words can’t describe the emotion, pain, and sorrow that Rizvan is experiencing on his journey. You have to watch the movie yourself to understand the meaning behind his message. Unfortunately, many if not all of us have somehow in some way experienced discrimination, social isolation, intolerance, prejudice, and injustice in life. That’s why we all can relate to Rizvan’s character and heartbreak. This is a funny, but also tragic movie. It makes you emotionally and rationally think about humans nasty behaviour. And that’s what I expect from a great movie. It should be entertaining but also touching, inspiring, and educating.

It is an eye-opening wake-up-call especially these days after everything that’s going on in our world after 9/11. If you care about human rights and believe in equality, watch this beautiful touching and heartbreaking movie, and pass it on to your next generation. Thank you to the wonderful Shah Rukh Khan, the beautiful Kajol, and amazing Karan Johar (the director) for this extraordinarily emotional, meaningful, and timeless movie about tolerance towards all religions. The world needs more educational and inspiring movies like this. We have seen enough trashy, cheap, uninspiring, and meaningless blockbusters (time killers!).

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE!

God Bless The 80es and 90es Have you ever asked yourself how script writers find the inspiration to create the most fascinating film characters and make up the greatest conversations? Ever since I began to write and publish books, I watch TV series and TV movies through different eyes. I listen more carefully to the dialogues and pay more attention to the characters. I ask myself the same questions at the end of each TV episode or movie. Was it worth watching it or should I have spent my last 30 to 120 minutes doing something productive? Was I entertained, inspired or educated? Did I laugh or was I emotionally touched? And boy, I have to admit that in our decade there is just too much rubbish on TV. Meaningless and uninspiring stories that many viewers define as time killers; or as I like to call them, WOT-movies: Waste of Time movies. In my opinion there is too much violence, bullying, and crime in the modern productions. During the 90s I really enjoyed watching TV series, especially after a long and uninspiring school day.

My favorite shows back then were the family friendly shows such as Full House, Who’s the Boss, Family Matters, Family Ties, The Wonder Years, Alf, Kate & Allie, The Golden Girls, The Waltons, and Little House on the Prairie. All shows about family issues. And there were, of course, TV shows like Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place by American TV producer Aaron Spelling who was already a household name with his successful TV series such as Hotel, The Love Boat, Dynasty and The Colby’s. Who didn’t like to watch iconic characters like Alexis Colby played by British actress Joan Collins? Do you remember J.R. Ewing in Dallas? What about Knight Rider and Baywatch? We grew up with these shows. They didn’t necessarily educate us, but they certainly entertained us in an innocent and clean way. I remember when I got home from school the first thing I did was turning on the TV. My mum used to work until late in the afternoon, so TV was my life-saver. Thanks to television I didn’t feel lonely and wasn’t scared of the darkness in winter.

Read My Mind - The Best of Lily Amis 2018

The voices of my favorite actors and actresses in my favorite shows made me feel comfortable and safe.

Which people in his circle inspired him to create these crazy but truly lovely characters?

The TV characters were my replacement for siblings, family and friends. They really were. These characters were my friends visiting me in my living room. I could always count on them. They didn’t disappoint me. They were always on time and didn’t let me down like people do in real life and most importantly they didn’t judge me, hurt me, lecture me, gossip behind my back or reject me.

How do you create iconic characters? Who inspires you? As I always say, my books are inspired by true stories and real people. What about your books? What about your characters?

So, it is no surprise that today many successful TV series are based or inspired by the epic 80s and 90s. Three TV series that I enjoy watching today are Baby Daddy, The Goldbergs and Sheldon. Forget the fact that the actors in these new productions are brilliant. Each one is simply remarkable. What’s more fascinating for me are the stories and dialogues. The Goldbergs is based on and inspired by true stories from screenwriter and producer Adam F. Goldberg. He found his inspiration in his home with his parents and siblings. I do have to wonder where screenwriter and executive producer Dan Berendsen gets his ideas for Baby Daddy?

I have to say I miss the 80s and 90s and I wish there were more TV shows and stories like those. Therefore, God bless the 80s! God bless the 90s! I feel privileged that I was lucky to experience those years and I admit that one specific TV show and TV character from the 80s and 90s was not only my best friend, he was also my family. The father that I never had. The shinning knight in my darkest, unhappiest, and loneliest teenage years. So, it is time to dedicate an article in Read My Mind to THE man who many girls and boys in my generation loved, adored and worshiped.

Read My Mind - The Best of Lily Amis 2018

My Childhood Hero American Actor and Singer David Hasselhoff Ever since I remember he was my ray of hope in the darkness. He has been an inspiration to many of his fans with his TV Shows and music. But for me he was and still is much more than just an Entertainer. He was the missing father I never had. When my father and later stepfather left us, I desperately needed a strong male shoulder in my life. In all of those years of desperation and helplessness – in the years from 1989 to 1994, to be exact – there was someone else who gave me faith and strength, apart from my mom and my painting, of course.

When I read his biography (The First Big Book about David Hasselhoff and K.I.T.T. – Knight Rider), I not only admired him, I adored and respected him for his optimism, attitude, humanity and heart. In his TV role in Knight Rider, he played a strong protector – a man and his car fighting against the evils in the world. They fought for justice and freedom and I was convinced that there was a considerable part of David’s personality in his role as Michael Knight and later as Mitch Buchanan in Baywatch. But this all-rounder also impressed me with his music.

It may sound weird to you, but a person whom I had never met before became my hero. He became a protective father figure which every girl needs. I found this figure in the American actor and singer David Hasselhoff. Of course, most girls had a crush on some boy band singer at that age. But my feelings for David were much stronger.

Especially with his hit single Looking for Freedom, which went straight to my heart. Even more so when he sang the song on the Berlin Wall in front of half a million people: I’ve been Looking for Freedom, I’ve been looking so long, I’ve been Looking for Freedom, still the search goes on. I’ve been Looking for Freedom, since I left my home town, I’ve been Looking for 81 Freedom, still it can’t be found.

Read My Mind - The Best of Lily Amis 2018

It felt as though David was singing for me alone. Mom and I had left our home in order to find freedom and still hadn’t found it. Like many refugees, mom and I were watching these moving moments on TV on NewYear’s Eve in 1989 and cried.

For many of us, David became a Symbol. For young and old, male and female, he was their hero. Everybody respected him and I wished that this special person who meant so much to me and gave me hope and strength through his shows and music would one day stand in front to me and look straight at me with his beautiful blue eyes. I did all I could to make this happen. I entered all Meet & Greet contests, but I was never lucky. Still, I didn’t give up. One day, I came a little bit closer to my goal. It was February 1990 and I was 13. The magical car K.I.T.T. from the TV show Knight Rider was displayed at a shopping center in Zurich. I went to see it with mom and I can hardly describe how excited I was. Of course, I knew that K.I.T.T. couldn’t really talk – the excitement was because of David and the fact that he had sat in this car before.

Mom did me a huge favor and paid for me to be able to sit in the car for a few minutes. I was so excited! But it wasn’t enough yet. I continued entering all contests and gathered all pieces of information, posters etc. about David. I kept track of his activities and life. I especially adored him for his charity work for children with cancer. That proved to me once more what a wonderful person he had to be. On May 6th, 1990 David gave his first concert in my City – his "Looking for Freedom tour" - and finally I had the chance to see him live. Mom’s working colleague knew how much David meant to me and surprised us with three tickets for the concert. I was overjoyed and counted the days until the concert. Not only would I see David at last, it was also my first pop concert ever. I was overwhelmed and the concert was a huge spectacle. Of course, I could only see David from afar, but it was better than nothing. I really enjoyed the show and sang along with every song. Of course, I didn’t really understand all of the lyrics because at that time I didn’t understand English that well. But that was okay. 82

At the beginning of the show, there was an announcement that David became a father to a daughter the night before. When I heard that, I fought back tears. I don’t know why but it touched me deep inside. I was so moved and my emotions were going wild. I think I probably envied his baby because I wished that he were my father. Not long after, on November 26th, 1990, David returned to Switzerland. This time he was to make an appearance on Swiss National TV. There was a big announcement in the newspaper a week before he came. It was early in the morning when I read it on my way to school. I knew that this was my chance. I asked my friend a favor. I wanted her to send a letter to the TV station and pretend that she wanted to surprise me. The plan actually worked and we were invited to see the show rehearsal before the live show. I was so excited, I could hardly think straight. I couldn’t wait to see him. But what would I say to him? What would I ask? And would I be able to look into his deep blue eyes? He was so much taller than me, after all. I really wanted to give him a present so I decided to paint a picture for him.

I didn’t have much time left, so I decided to make a black and white portrait of him with his wonderful wife Pamela and his adorable daughter Taylor Anne. Finally, the day came - the day I had been waiting for so long. We arrived at the TV station and were shocked to see that we weren’t the only children there. There were loads of children with cancer who wanted to see David. There were about 600 kids in wheel chairs. It was such sad sight! It didn’t take long and David arrived at the studio. And there he was, real and in person. He looked dazzling, like always. A tall slim man with a leather jacket and leather pants. I was also dressed very neatly and wearing my David-jacket that mom had surprised me with on New Year. I wanted to be as cool as my Idol. David looked at the kids and waved. He showed us his enchanting smile, which gave so many children strength. We were all mesmerized by him. His presence alone made us all so happy. It’s hard to describe. You should have been there!

David was there to promote his single Crazy for You. When the Playback began, I took my chance and ran to him. I wanted to make sure I would give him my painting. I had put it in a frame that was almost as big as me. No matter what I had to get it into his hands. So, while he was performing, I ran past the cameras and cables and reached my goal at last. The people working there weren’t happy about it, of course, but I couldn’t care less. David was standing on the stairs with his back to me. I waited until he turned around and gave him my painting. He was so surprised that he forgot his text. He looked me in the eyes and said “Thank you!” I was right: He had the most beautiful blue eyes I could ever imagine – they went right through me. I was thrilled. But I tried to control myself and ran back to my seat. He finished his performance and approached the host of the show. After he was done, he was about to leave. I took my chance again and ran after him. I at least wanted an autograph. There were workers from the studio in my way but they let me pass. I caught up with him in the hallway. He was in a hurry and told some lady something about interviews and radio and that he would be right back. I saw a Taxi waiting outside the door. But while he was still talking to the lady, I grabbed his arm and refused to let go.

I don’t think I will ever forget this day. I had come so close to my goal but couldn’t really speak to David. The following weeks, I was very confused and cried a lot. I don’t really know why but mom understood and tried to comfort me. The months passed and I kept myself informed about David’s activities professionally and private. I still gathered everything I could get about him. I never spent any money on the magazines but I knew how to get the articles and posters anyway. Everyone at school knew what a huge fan I was of David’s and so I started trading with the kids in my class and even older classes. They gave me everything they found about David and I gave them chewing gum. I was such a big fan that I even signed all of my school-books and notebooks with Lily Hasselhoff. I wished he were my father – the dream daddy I never had. A year later, on December 7th, 1991, David came to Switzerland again. This time with his David Concert Tour. Needless to say, Mom and I went to the concert. The show was fantastic and, this time, even his beautiful wife Pamela and his sweet daughter Taylor Anne came on stage. It was an unforgettable concert and it took my thoughts off of our everyday problems.

He was very tall but not as strong and muscular as I had imagined. When he finished talking, he looked down to me and saw my self-made autograph card. He said: “How nice. You did this yourself? Do you have anything to write with?” But I – normally ready for any situation – didn’t have a pen. And neither did David. But then, I spotted a pen and gave it to him right away. David signed my card, looked at me with such a kind look in his eyes and said: “ Sorry, but I have to go! Take care. Bye!” That was it – and my hero was gone. He got into the cab and left. I was so happy, on the one hand, and so unhappy, on the other. I didn’t know what to feel anymore. But I guess I wasn’t quite as confused as the little boy standing next to me waiting for me to return his pen. I said, “Thank you! At least you can say that David held this pen in his hand.”

Me sitting in the magic car Kitt 84

Me with David Hasselhoff in 1994 in Zurich David’s music and the show were like ointment against my pain and sorrow. They helped me forget about everything, at least for a few hours. It was a kind of therapy – David was my personal therapist. It happened a lot of times that I just cried in desperation and listened to his music to calm me down. It was my escape in the next years. Other kids fought their sorrow with drugs, alcohol or boys – I had David’s music and shows. To be honest, I don’t know what I would have done without him. I was so grateful for his love and everything he gave to me and his fans. I guess people like him don’t realize what a wonderful influence they can have on others. Three years later, on April 5th, 1994, David gave another concert and we had tickets for this concert as well. I always saved up my pocket money for David. Not because I was cheap, but because I knew how hard mom was working for the money. I either spent the money on birthday or Christmas presents for mom or I bought tapes by David or concert tickets. This time, I didn’t know that I was going to see my dream dad in person again after four years. I was sitting in school unsuspectingly and a classmate of mine asked me whether I was going to David’s autographing. I didn’t know anything about that and thought she was messing with me.

But she explained very quickly that she wasn’t joking and that I should hurry. It was a few minutes before David’s autographing and I knew it would take me at least 15 minutes to get there. But I also had to tell mom that I wasn’t coming home for lunch. So I ran home like a bat out of hell. I was out of breath and could hardly speak. Mom was ironing and in her house clothes. I yelled: “David is in town giving autographs. Come! We have to go!” But mom stayed calm and continued her ironing. I was so excited. My heart was racing. And when I saw her so calm I yelled: “Mom, hurry! Please!” and she just said: “Okay, okay. I’m coming.” I was going crazy from excitement and was so afraid that we would miss him. We made it just before the end of it and I was once again standing in front of my hero. David’s father Joe (RIP) was standing next to him. This autographing session was very well organized – there was no pushing or shoving. Everybody had the chance to see David and talk to him. So I approached him and said: “David, do you remember me?” What a stupid question. How could he have remembered me after four years? I had changed so much and he saw so many fans every day. He said: “Why? Where have we met before?” I explained that I gave him the painting four years ago. He remembered me right away and said that he still had that painting. He said that the frame broke during an earthquake in Los Angeles but the painting was still okay.

I was so happy and asked him for a picture of the two of us. I told him that I would come to the concert in the evening and said that I was looking forward to it very much. He smiled at me and said: “I’ll see you tonight, then.” I was overjoyed with seeing him again. But now I had to go back to school and eat something real quick. All of my classmates knew exactly what I did during lunch and grinned when I returned to class in the middle of the lesson. My teacher gave me a form to fill out and explain my reason for being late. As honest as I am, I wrote: “I came too late because I had to meet my dream dad.” My teacher smiled and knew exactly who I meant. Luckily, I didn’t get in trouble for it. The teacher understood and knew that I was never late for school and one of the best students in class. So it was okay this one time. In the evening, I went to the concert with mom. David noticed me and even waved at me. This encounter was not going to be our last either.

Mom and I really enjoyed the show and I had never dreamed that I would get another chance to see David in person again after so many years. After the show we waited for him at the stage door and there he came. He looked handsome like always and he took time for his fans. I approached him again and we spoke for a while. Mom and I even got the chance to meet up with him in private a few days later and he was very kind and took the time to see us despite his full schedule. I have to admit that it was an exciting experience, to sit next to my idol like this. Even after all these years. Listening to him, looking into his deep blue eyes and just being close to him. It was amazing! I wanted to stop the time and be there forever. I felt just like a little girl again. A little girl who finally saw her dream daddy after a long time and who just didn’t want to stop hugging him. Anyway, during this personal and honest meeting with David, not only the title of my first book developed. I also saw that David is not a hero.

Ten years later, our paths crossed again. I was in my absolute favorite city - in the amazing and astonishing London - searching for a publisher for my memoir when I saw posters saying that David was in town acting in the musical Chicago

The voice within me said: “Go to the Show. You’ll be sorry if you don’t!” So I bought Tickets for mom and me right away. The Show was wonderful and it was great to see my Idol once again on stage after ten years. After so many years of trouble and sorrow, it felt so comforting. Now, I wasn’t a little girl anymore either. Nevertheless, my feelings for David had not changed. There had never been a man in my life who I adored and admired like David. Since I believe in reincarnation, I am convinced that I have known David for much longer than I have in this lifetime. Who knows? Maybe he was my daddy in a different life. The closeness I felt with him was so strong – there was no one else I felt like this about, apart from mom.

Read My Mind - The Best of Lily Amis 2018

86 My mum Sima & David in London

He’s a lovely human being with weakness and imperfection like all of us. Being so close to him made me also realize that as David always said during his whole career “Dreams do come true, you just have to believe it and go for it”. To others my meeting with David may be meaningless. For me though it is the ultimate prove that when you really want something from your heart and you go for it, you actually can achieve it. Ever since I was thirteen years old all I wanted was to see David, the American actor and singer. Speak to him and spend some time with him. And there you go, I not only managed to see him twice as a kid but also even as an adult in my favorite city London. Who would have thought that? Me the little war-refugee-girl in Europe and he the successful and worldwide known Hollywood star. So you see everything is possible. As I always say and believe nothing in life is a coincidence. David played a huge role in my emotional life and was more a father to me than my own flesh and blood. I will always be grateful for his kindness. I will always be thankful for him helping me through my most difficult teenage years by giving me hope, joy, happiness and precious moments with his music, TV Shows and Live Concerts. I thank David Hasselhoff for being the kind of person that still today gives me and others pleasure, happiness, faith, strong will and strength. He is truly one in a billion and will always have a special place in my heart - 4 ever! God bless David and his beautiful daughters Taylor Anne and Hayley Amber, who are meanwhile two lovely, gorgeous and talented ladies, to whom David was and still is the perfect loving and supporting father. May David always be able to see the many ways that his love and compassion is changing some lives for the better, and may just as much love and light fill his life and his daughter’s life with luck, happiness, prosperity, good fortune and every spiritual blessing. What is your biggest dream, goal, wish or desire? Whatever it is, I hope my story about David Hasselhoff inspired you to go for it and never ever give up!

Me and David in London 87

Read My Mind - The Best of Lily Amis 2018

THE TEDDY CHARITY PROJECT We like to make giveaways with a print copy of Teddy & Lily along with the audiobook on CD for children in need. Especially for refugee kids, who are easily forgotten and sadly too often rejected, and for children in hospitals and children with disabilities in special schools. As you can guess, doing giveaways with printed books and pressed audiobooks on CD is costly. And that’s where you come in. You can help us in two ways. You may provide us with information about a child who’s hospitalized or in a refugee camp, or/and you may donate as much as you can to make it possible for us to cover the production and international shipping cost.

Let us put a smile on children’s faces regardless of their life story and their home country. What we adults often forget is how important and priceless emotional support is to children. And what is better and more heartwarming than a lovely and sweet book (based on a true story) that educates and inspires children and their parents? Our charity project is going to be active throughout the entire year and not only on Christmas. Thanks for supporting our campaign on GOFUNDME.com. Every little bit helps! Thank you for your kindness. Thank you for your support. Thank you for your love!

WATCH THE TRAILER! 88

BON VOYAGE CHARITY PROJECT Bon Voyage is an illustrated book inspired by my memoir Definition of Freedom. It is also available as an e-book and audiobook narrated in British English by the lovely Beverley Murray. Bon Voyage is the second part of a children’s book series of four. Bon Voyage is magical. It inspires. It educates. It pays homage to the beauty of Europe by taking you to its breathtaking cities where you will explore the geography, culture, and history. With “The Bon Voyage Charity Project” we like to donate print books and audiobooks to school libraries and to children who are not able to travel because of health or financial reasons. With your support we can educate many children about European geography, history, and art while putting a smile on their face as they join Monsieur Jac Couture and little Lily on their journey. As you can imagine, the cost of producing and shipping print books and audiobooks, can be challenging for an indie author, so every donation helps us take a child on an adventure. Thank you for your support. Thank you for your kindness. Thank you for your love and caring.

The story behind Bon Voyage For fifteen years my mum and I, as war refugees, couldn’t travel and leave Switzerland. We felt like prisoner’s in a golden cage, sentenced for life, and only because we had left our war-torn country for a future in safety. But traveling is very important. People who never travel miss out on so much experience and knowledge. Traveling makes us who we are. Meeting people from different cultures and mentality is what makes us openminded and less judgmental or prejudiced. However, many families and children don’t have the opportunity to travel. And unfortunately, few teachers are well educated enough about geography, culture, and history to teach the children about it. I personally learned nothing useful about geography and history in school. I had a male teacher who was obsessed with Brazil and that was his only topic for three years. And my female French teacher who also taught us history was obsessed with Napoleon Bonaparte, so for three years her only topic in history was Napoleon.

I remember the days when all my schoolmates came back from their summer or Christmas holidays and told me all about their magical destinations. I admit I really envied them. For fifteen years I collected travel brochures with amazing destinations and stored them under my bed knowing that I could never ever visit these places because of our papers. I remember an occasion where I even won a trip for two to Paris and Disneyland. It was always my dream to visit this gorgeous city with my mum.

And I had never ever won anything before or after that. Well, as you can imagine it was extremely heartbreaking for a fourteen-year-old girl to pass the prize to someone else. It took fifteen years until my mum and I were finally allowed to leave Switzerland and that was like a miracle for us. Visiting all these cities that I wanted to see for so many years could finally become a reality. My dream country had always been the USA, probably because of all the TV series that I watched as a teenager. So, the first countries we visited were Canada, America, and United Kingdom. We visited Toronto, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, New York, and London. Five years later we finally had the chance to discover the beauty of the European countries as well. Switzerland is located right in the middle of Europe, but despite having historical and amazing countries such as Germany, Austria, Italy, and France within an hour drive or flight we hadn’t had the chance to discover these wonderful countries for almost twenty years. All these countries didn’t give us a touristic visa until Switzerland became one of the Schengen members in 2008. In 2007 though, only a month before this happened, we had the chance to visit Italy thanks to the kind embassy of Italy, who gave us Visas and welcomed us. The feeling of freedom was indescribable. A long dream and desire finally came true. And that was just the beginning of many more travels to come that we have shared in Bon Voyage with our readers and listeners.

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