SmokeLong Quarterly

Astrid. Is there really a Winterfeldplatz? What’s it like?

Randall. Yes there really is. It is roughly the size of a soccer field, bordered by a church, a playground, a puppet-theater and a bunch of bars, restaurants and cafés with customers of very mixed nationality and sexual orientation. There is a nice market twice weekly and on the other days you can watch the crowd of inline hockey players, skateboarders, passersby, blue dogs or children from a snack bar which used to be a public restroom.

“Bring the beer.” A good mantra. Would you mind sharing your own mantra(s)?

“Wenn schon, denn schon” could be translated as: “if at all — then go for it!” And “How does this look from the other side?”

You seem so wise in the ways of love. How did you get to be The Love Sage?

I think this is a misconception. The story by the way is not about love. “The love sage.” I have to tell my husband—in case he has not found out yet.

What made Astrid a writer? (And a really gosh darn good one.)

I had storage problems in my head.

Where in the world is Astrid these days? Having fun? Miss any of your old haunts?

I am living in Berlin, Germany, and dreaming of new destinations. I am having fun but keep some boxes unpacked. I miss my father, who died this winter(ok, sorry Didi, you are not an old haunt). I long for the future.