We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cornelia Feye. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cornelia below.

Cornelia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

In 2015 I had just self-published my second mystery novel, House of the Fox, and had written a third novel, Private Universe. I was working with two other accomplished author friends, who had also just completed novels and wanted to publish. We three women put our heads together and decided it was time to start our own publishing company, because we did not have any luck with traditional publishers and we wanted the freedom to publish our work as well as help other rising authors to find a platform for their voices. By self-publishing first, we had learned so much from our mistakes and together we could really bring exciting new historical fiction and mysteries to the market, and produce high quality, professional books.

We named the publishing company Konstellation Press (with a K, like in the German spelling) because we wanted to encourage constellations of writers to supporting each other. Our logo is the summer triangle star constellation of Vega, Deneb, and Altair. Vega is also the name of the main character in my mystery series.

Since then we have published over 30 books that have won many prizes. (Spring of Tears, by Cornelia Feye, Ballast Point Breakdown by Corey Lynn Fayman, and the Anthology Magic, Mystery & Murder edited by Feye and Merrill all won the San Diego Book Awards)

You can see all the titles on our website: konstellationpress.com

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I arrived from Germany in New York City thirty years ago with two suitcases and a typewriter. Since then I have tried to combine my background as an art historian – I hold a M.A. in Art History and Anthropology from the University of Tübingen, Germany – with my experiences travelling around the world for seven years, and my love for writing.

In New York and San Diego, I was an art educator at museums such as the Jacques Marchais Museum for Tibetan Art in Staten Island, the San Diego Museum of Art, and the Mingei International Museum. For ten years I served as director of the School of the Arts and Arts Education at the Athenaeum of Music & Arts in La Jolla. I have taught Western and Non-Western art history at colleges and universities in San Diego and continue to lecture at UCSD with an emphasis on Women Artist and Conceptual Art.

In 2016 I founded Konstellation Press, an indie publishing company for genre fiction, to give a voice to independent writers and create a supportive community for local authors.

During the pandemic I finished my fourth novel Death of a Zen Master, a mystery set in a remote Zen Monastery. The novel received a 5 star rating from Readers’ Favorite. “This classy, modern-day homage to the golden age of murder mysteries is most highly recommended.” The short story anthology Magic, Mystery & Murder, co-edited by Cornelia Feye and Tamara Merrill won the San Diego Book Award in 2019. The anthology Modern Metamorphoses—Stories of Transformation was published by Konstellation Press in 2020.

I live in Ocean Beach where I find inspiration in my garden and always look for the green flash.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Writing is a solitary process. At Konstellation Press we strive to create a supportive community of authors and readers, who encourage each other, attend each other’s book events, read each other’s work, and spread the word about the books we love. Everybody has a story. Get your book published and out into the universe.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

When I started to publish my first mystery, Spring of Tears, I really didn’t know much about the process. I wish I had known about professional editing services, and also about using professional graphic designers for my cover. Instead, I just asked a friend to help with the cover, and read through the manuscript for spelling errors. Both were big mistakes. There is so much more to a front and back cover than just the image, and manuscripts have to go through several editing phases.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.konstellationpress.com
• Instagram: Cornelia Feye
• Facebook: facebook@konstellationpress
• Other: For more information check our website or email [email protected]

Image Credits
Glen Feye