Front Cover

PaulEberhardt on May 1, 2024

Welcome to Maura the Mole, a little illustrated story in verse to make you laugh and think.

Let me tell you a bit about it.
I came up with it while still in training for my job. I attended a seminar about using comics in English lessons and part of it was a little competition among the participants in making a comic of their own. I'd already been active in webcomics for a number of years by that time, so both were an opportunity I just couldn't let slip.
Maura the Mole instantly won the hearts of all who test-read it, and it was suggested I should publish it. I was about to upload it here, like I've finally done now, when a friend of the family, who runs a small publishing company, offered to publish it in print, as a proper picture book. How could I have said no to that?

I was in a bit of a rush, both with the original manuscript version and the print edition. I thought up, rhymed and drew it all in just a bit under a week, mostly at nights. To this day, I'm still not quite sure how I managed without passing out, but I think I came close.
For instance, colouring this cover took less than half an hour early on the last morning when the deadline closed in in a way comparable to that truck in the Roadrunner cartoons.
I later reworked some of it for a Plattdütsch version, with better colouring work on the cover and an additional page/panel I hadn't been able to finish in time for the English print version. I added the latter to this here web version, but left the cover as it was. The little book has been sold that way for years and it's part of my personal history now.

Now, I'm finally able to present Maura to you, here on the Duck. I've pre-uploaded all of it, and it will run from today until Sunday, 19th May on a schedule of one double page every two days, except on weekends and this week when there will be a double page every day.
I chose this format, because in the print book these double pages are opposite to each other and often the rhyme spreads across them. It's quite important for the pacing, too, as I'm always reminded of when reading Maura to an audience, aided by a Powerpoint version.

Over the years, I've been given an astonishing number of different interpretations of Maura's story from a variety of angles I'd never have thought of in my wildest dreams while creating it. Now I can hardly wait to see how you react and I'm looking forward to your comments. Enjoy!

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Print versions of Maura the Mole are still available.

If you happen to live in Germany, the easiest, fastest and cheapest way is to order it at your local bookstore:
● ISBN 978 3 945130-03-2

Everywhere else used to be more difficult for a long time, for various reasons, but I found out how to ship books internationally at a reasonable price and put up a batch for worldwide sale on eBay:
● https://www.ebay.de/itm/135021872688
(This has the additional perk that I'll sign your copy if you add a note to your purchase, asking me to.)
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There is also a Plattdütsch version called Mieke Mullworp which can be bought through the same channels at the same conditions:
● ISBN 978 3 945130-13-1
● https://www.ebay.de/itm/135021951259