Marieke

I was born in Amsterdam, three floors above the Albert Cuyp market, in 1967. Later my parents moved to a flat in Zaandam and eventually to a house in Bakkum aan Zee. That's where I grew up. I had a younger brother, loving parents and a happy childhood. After high school I went to study Dutch in Amsterdam. I was already writing articles for the newspaper at that time and I continued to do so, after I graduated. For a while I also worked for German radio and television. I wrote about children's theater for a German newspaper. I also auditioned for drama school but was rejected. When I had children of my own I started telling fairy tales in their schools. I liked that even more than my job. I didn't read, I did it from memory, and I made up all sorts of things. I told fairy tales for years, until my youngest child was in eighth grade, and during that time I started writing children's stories myself. My first book was The girls against the boys, in the Lotte & Roos series. It appeared at Querido. Since then I have published five books. Umbrador, the latest book, is a fairytale, and a dark story. A bit like the way I used to tell them at school. The other books are cheerful and lighter in tone. I think they all together reflect exactly who I am. If you want to know even more about me, you can read the Questions and Answers. This is also useful if you want to give a presentation on one of my books. In the Extra's section you will find coloring pages, and interviews between me and the book's characters. Since then, I've published five more books, including "Umbrador," which is a dark, fairytale-like story. A bit like the ones I used to love telling in school. "A Country House Full of Secrets," my latest book, is cheerful and lighter in tone. I think all the titles together perfectly reflect who I am.