Rainer Stenzenberger

There are already many city guides to Berlin, as well as crime stories with a Berlin background - but since December 2013 there is now a new book serial combining both genres: The so-called "U-Bahn Cops"! The story about a top secret special police unit is always happening along an U-Bahn line. The first book which has been published a few days before Christmas 2013 is telling a crime story with many popular sights along the U-Bahn line U2 - from the Olympic Stadium to the KaDeWe and finally the Alexanderplatz.

Besides this special sightseeing guide the U-Bahn Cops are offering a crime story full of suspense and humour. Already in their first case the anxious Olli - armed just with a whistle - and the impulsive Milan are tracking a crime which leads them into the highest circles of Berlin politics.

The first book, "Das tote Zimmermädchen vom Bahnhof Zoo", has been written by my co-writer Ulrich Sackenreuter and myself and it has been released by the Berlin based publisher chipercy. A second and a third book are planned for 2014.

The years of hard economical and social reforms pay off. This week two news showed how competitive the German economy currently performs. The renowned World Economic Forum (WEF) placed Germany as number four among 200 nations in its ranking of competiteveness. Like the United States, Germany is one of the countries climbing up the ladder and has to follow only Singapur, Switzerland and Finland.

The German newspaper "Die WELT" also wrote this week, that the plus in exports in 2013 will be the highest in history, surpassing the 200 billion EUR barrier, higher even than the figures of China or Saudia-Arabia. This figure does not make everyone happy, the EU already showed some concern that the German strength is part of the problem of other EU nations. Strange enough, but that's the EU logic of these days. More details in the article of die WELT.
Image: Raimond Spekking

The Goethe Institute London regularly introduces German artists within their "Meet the Germans" serial. You will meet artists from various areas: Rock musicians, actors, painters or writers, from startups to established stars in their profession.

I felt very honoured to be portrayed in a row with celebrities like Moritz Bleibtreu, Sibel Kekilli, Tokio Hotel or Harald Schmidt. The Berlin based journalist Rory MacLean made a long interview with me which you can find here.

From May 31 to June 1, 2013, an Indo-German SME Forum took place in Delhi/India. On behalf of the German developement corporations Sequa and GIZ I co-organized this event on the German side. The conference was attended by high-ranking speakers on both sides - from Germany, for instance, speakers from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, the Federation of German Industries (BDI) and large Business Membership Organizations (BMO) like VDA (Automotive), VCI (Chemicals) and VDMA (Machinery). From the Indian side we welcomed speakers like the honourable Secretary Madhav Lal from the Ministry of MSME and representatives of more than 40 BMOs like ACMA, FICCI or FISME.

The forum should achieve two goals: The introduction of the BMO landscape on both sides in order to improve the service portfolio - as well as initiating concrete Indo-German partnerships. More than 40 B2B meetings have been arranged which led to first contacts for future partnering, some have been used to deepen existing relations. If you need any further information or a contact to India - please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.

The second book of the cult serial BERLIN WERWOLF is now available. As the title already reveals, "revenge" is an essential motif in this story. Further ingredients: Russian mobsters, a violent biker gang, a sexy female cop, a handbag designer from Vietnam and his carlin dog, a skater girl, the Dude, lots of Berlin local colour - and a bloody trail during full moon.

You can order the book directly at my publisher be.bra Verlag or at large mail order companies like Amazon. In addition you might want to get a life feeling during a reading, for instance at the Leipzig Book Fair. Or you could meet more Werwolf supporters on the Facebook Fanpage.

Many so-called transition countries are searching for their own way from former central planning to a contemporary organized economy and society. Georgia in the Causasus belongs to the candidates with positve prospects. This country with its centuries long history is using a free market policy with a business friendly legal and administrative framework which is already showing good results – but most of that happens in the capital, Tbilisi, only.

I am currently working for the German Technical Cooperation GIZ in two interesting projects: Supporting the establishment of two Regional Development Agencies. The goal is to extend the dynamic from Tbilisi into the regions, in that case into Shida Kartli and Kvemo Kartli with their major cities Gori and Rustavi.

One of the prime challenges is to change the mentality of many people – from thinking only nationally into a more regional view.

Since August 2011, I am working as a senior expert in a project in the Caucasus, on behalf of the official German economic development corporation GIZ. The project’s goal is to strengthen the green economy in Georgia. Several sub-sectors with a high “green” potential have been selected in order to promote more sustainable economy. One industry sector with a lot of green potential is the textile industry which has a long tradition, being a part of the historic silk road.

Georgia offers excellent conditions for a sustainable production in the textile industry: Abundant and clean water and hydro power for clean energy based manufacturing. Concerning hydro power per capita Georgia ranks first in the world! The small country in the Caucasus even exports power, as, for instance, to Turkey. You will find more info on this official page.

Countdown is running down... On February 27, 2012, my novel BERLIN WERWOLF - BLUTSBRÜDER will be published by be.bra Verlag in Berlin, currently in German only. The novel will be the first book of the BERLIN WERWOLF serial, a new urban fantasy edition about the Berlin anti-hero Gero von Sarnau and his friends. You will find blood, suspense, humour, bizarre characters and lots of Berlin local colour. On March 8 there will be a premiere reading in the same building where the main character from the novel lives. More details soon.

Do you need investors for your region, your city, your country? From manufacturing companies to expanding service firms or investors from the real estate business - I will assist you. I am looking back to a career of more than 20 years with successful projects in three continents. My expertise focuses heavily on outlining the USP of your region and in a next step on the targeted approach of suitable investors to attract companies for a sustainable economic development of your region. My most recent assignment was a project on behalf of the official German Economic Development Agency GIZ in Georgia. You will find further projects under the menu button Consultant.

The market for ebooks is growing rapidly. In 2010 Amazon USA sold more ebooks than printed ones. Markets in other countries like Germany are still behind, but also show in increase in ebook sales. Almost every day you will find a new internet based platform for ebooks. It's a convenient situation for writers as they achieve higher margins for their ebooks than for printed ones, and it is not too difficult to set up an ebook. Still, many writers don't sell a lot of books because their work is not presented in a professional way, be it the book cover or the short description of the content. I will assist you in every possible way, from the cover via the format conversion process to the selection of the appropriate platform. Just get in touch with me through the contact form.