Stephan Leenen and musician Andreas Pohl together at a reading. private
With “Berlin Underground” you have already published the sixth part of your crime series. But in the Blumenthal district branch you are reading from the fifth part, right?
Stephan Leenen: Yes, I’m reading from “Dirty Money”. It’s about an ATM gang – and of course that fits in perfectly with the Sparkasse.
Do you even have musical support?
Andreas Pohl is a gifted guitarist. I wrote the lyrics and he makes the music and sings too. Sometimes I have to sing along too (laughs). That creates a good atmosphere. There are also songs where the audience is encouraged to sing along. For example, we have a pathologist song that is based a little on the Münster “Tatort”. It’s a little offbeat. The guests can then sing along to the chorus. That’s always great.
“Of course, I would also like to do something specific to Bremen.”
That sounds like a really interactive reading you’re having.
That’s right! We have a lot of fun doing it. People notice that too. And it’s always nice at the Sparkasse. We’ve already been to the local branches in Schwachhausen and Horn-Lehe. The Sparkasse employees were always very impressed there too.
“Dirty Money” is Stephan Leenen’s fifth novel. In it, a gang of ATMs is up to mischief. Stephan Leenen
You published all six books yourself?
At the beginning, I had a small publishing house in Berlin. But unfortunately it had to close its doors in 2018. Since then, I’ve been doing everything myself. We started making music during the pandemic because I always wanted to do something other than just sit and read. So I said to my neighbor friend across the street: “Hey, let’s make some music!” Then I started writing the lyrics. There are now about ten songs.
Were the songs all created in connection with your books?
Yes, exactly. Of course, he had been in a blues band and on the road for years before that. He also wrote his own songs. Now and then, when it’s appropriate, we include one of his songs.
Why did you choose Berlin as the crime scene for your books?
That happened to me because I used to spend a lot of time in Berlin, both professionally and privately. Berlin is a city with an international background that is always changing very quickly. You can write completely different stories there than in Bremen. It just seemed like a good idea and I stuck with it.
I’m currently writing a crime novel set in Bremen, but we’ll have to wait and see when it comes out. Of course, I’d also like to do something specific to Bremen.
“It is important to me to include social issues in my stories.”
How and where do you find inspiration for your stories?
That’s a good question… I’m often inspired by small newspaper articles. They sometimes slip into the back pages under “Miscellaneous” or “From around the world”. And sometimes there are things in there that really trigger me. Then I start – and sometimes I already know how it ends. And sometimes I don’t.
The investigative team, Britt and Ralf, have a life of their own in my head. I call them my “mental flat share” (laughs). When I start writing, I imagine what they should do. And sometimes they do something completely different while I’m writing. Then the story changes. I always find that very exciting.
It’s always important to me to include social issues in my stories. To shake people up a bit. It’s actually similar with the ATM gang. But I won’t give away everything.
