The Last Mission

Spring, 1973: East Berlin is preparing for the World Festival of Youth and Students. For nine days, the city is supposed to become a gigantic festival mile, with tens of thousands of visitors expected from all over the world. The German Democratic Republic intends to present itself as cosmopolitan and colorful; yet the citizens are prisoners in their own country. Barriers at the border with the Federal Republic of Germany prevent them from reaching West Germany. When Henning Nowak, a border guard, attempts to flee, his sister-in-law also attracts the attention of the Stasi, the secret police. They suspect her of helping Henning. What the Stasi doesn’t guess is that Ria was actually a spy for the West German intelligence agency years ago. She still retains astonishing capabilities, and she has sworn to defend her family at any cost.

The Second Secret

Spring, 1973: East Berlin is preparing for the World Festival of Youth and Students. For nine days, the city is supposed to become a gigantic festival mile, with tens of thousands of visitors expected from all over the world. The German Democratic Republic intends to present itself as cosmopolitan and colorful; yet the citizens are prisoners in their own country. Barriers at the border with the Federal Republic of Germany prevent them from reaching West Germany. When Henning Nowak, a border guard, attempts to flee, his sister-in-law also attracts the attention of the Stasi, the secret police. They suspect her of helping Henning. What the Stasi doesn’t know or guess is that Ria was actually a spy for the West German intelligence agency years ago. She still retains astonishing capabilities, and she has sworn to defend her family at any cost.

The Foreign Spy

East Berlin, 1961: Rita was ten years old when her parents were picked up by the Stasi, the secret police. Separated from her younger sister, she grew up with her adoptive family. Since then, she has led an apparently well-adjusted life in East Berlin. When she starts a new position in the Ministry for Foreign Trade, the BND, the West German information service, seeks to recruit her as an informant. Ria sees this as her opportunity: with the assistance of the West German intelligence agency, she can get revenge on the East German regime and finally find her sister again. But then she learns about a monstrous plan that could alter the fate of her family and the future of both German countries, for ever ...

The Golden Years of Franz Tausend

Dashing, self-confident, charming – in 1924, Franz Tausend rises from humble beginnings to conquer the world. He claims to be able to use secret methods in order to create gold. Far-right patriots and reputable industries sense an opportunity to use this gold to secretly finance the re-arming of Germany, and extend thousands of Marks for the opportunity. When some investors become nervous about whether it would ever rain gold, influential politicians ensure that the police stepped in. However, they aren’t tasked with keeping an eye on Franz Tausend, but instead with protecting him from the accusations of a woman, who is attempting to regain the money that she’d been cheated out of. Commissioner Heirnich Ahrndt, who is assigned to this case, is too conscientious to play along with these games. On top of this, he finds the woman to be quite sympathetic, even as she is bringing accusations against the conman. When Ahrndt turns to the press, he is transferred to Berlin for disciplinary reasons, where he is told to shadow the pacifist Carl Ossietzky. He has no idea that his supervisors have made diabolical calculations based on his conscience ... On the flip side, Franz Tausend is trying his luck with a new con, but his path and the commissioner’s will cross again ... this time in court.

Day X

After her scientist father is forced to go and live in distant Russia, Nelly finds it increasingly difficult to adapt to her East Berlin surroundings. She joins a church youth organization and is expelled from school shortly before taking her final exams in the spring of 1953. Perhaps she will find solace in the young watchmaker Wolf Uhlitz, who has fallen in love with her. He wants to help her, and because of her he even falls out with his father, steals state documents and ends up in jail. Wolf has but a vague inkling of the truth: Young Nelly has mysterious ties with a Russian spy working for the new man in charge in Moscow – Beria, Stalin’s successor. What is the secret that connects them? Like Wolf, this stranger also seems to dream of a life with Nelly. But longing and jealousy are suddenly swept away. In Berlin and Halle, the people’s dissatisfaction with the regime culminates in mass demonstrations, and the ruling powers’ bitter response is not long in coming.

Berlin, Land of Fire

Berlin, 1848: Hannes Böhm lives in the industrial quarter of Berlin generally known by local people as the Land of Fire because of all the factory chimneys there giving off clouds of smoke. As a kind of self-styled tour guide he earns a pittance showing curious people the poverty and destitution in the back streets of the city. While on one such tour he meets Alice, who, as the daughter of the castellan, lives in the Berlin city palace, the spring residence of the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm IV. Alice is shocked at the extent of the misery – and at the same time deeply impressed by Hannes, who seems to be full of ambition and imagination. But when unrest breaks out in March of 1848, when the conflict between the Prussian king and the revolutionaries comes to a head and the more moderate factions go unheard, it seems there is no future for the feelings Alice and Hannes are developing for each other. In his new novel, Titus Müller has painted a wide panorama of the revolutionary events of 1848 and at the same time written a wonderful love story.

Nighteye

For the past three years, the British security service MI5 has been on the hunt for »Nighteye«. A German spy hides behind this code name; a woman who destroys rail lines and bridges and has been known to kill her pursuers in cold blood. The greatest coup of her career is within her grasp, if she can discover the next targets of the British Air Force. In a move that could decide the war, they are preparing to bomb the largest dams in German-occupied territory. Their first target: the reservoir in the Möhne valley. More than a thousand Ukrainian women work under degrading conditions at an ammunition factory located downstream of the Möhne reservoir. Their encampment is run by Georg Hartmann, who is under scrutiny from his superiors amid rumors that he does not completely support the party line. In actuality, the women fear him less than they do the brutal men who serve as factory security. Does Hartmann suspect that some of the women, among them the friendly Nadjeschka, are planning a spectacular escape attempt? A love story, based on historical documents, and also a thrilling spy novel about a key moment in German history.

The Enemy’s Kiss

Kappadokia, around the year 800: More than ten thousand people live in the secret subterranean city of Korma. They are Christians. Here they have found refuge from the Arabs who conquered the land. Arif, son of an Arab captain, spys the Christian girl Savina on a ramble and falls in love with her head over heels. Unnoticed he follows her and thus finds the secret access to the Christian’s cave system. Actually Arif would have to report to his father that he has found the city of the Christians ... A wonderful historical novel, which makes past times come alive as well as a plea for tolerance and humanity.

2012 published as »Der Kuss des Feindes« by Fischer Schatzinsel, Frankfurt/Main, 288 pages.

Dance Beneath the Stars

Matheus Singvogel is a hypochondriac minister living in Berlin, whose marriage is on the rocks. He books a crossing on the Titanic. His wife is the daughter of a millionaire and has long missed the luxury of the station in which she grew to adulthood. Matheus, the minister, hopes that he can regain her heart and salvage their marriage while traveling on the greatest ship in the world. Unknown to Matheus, however, his wife’s lover will also be on board. Lyman Tundale is an agent in the British Secret Service and hopes to use the journey, far from her native land, to complete his conquest of Cecilia’s heart and convince her to serve as a spy: knowledge about Germany’s war financing, in which her father actively participates, is his ultimate goal. The British agent will force both Cecilia and Matheus between the mill wheels of international politics on their voyage. Nele, a chorus girl, has suffered a break down at the Wintergarten Revue. She then quarrels with her mother, who is supporting Nele’s lifestyle, much to Mrs. Stern’s dismay, since she considers Nele to be nothing more than a floozy. Nele steals from her mother and flees to America, booking a crossing on the Titanic as her first step toward a new, more successful life.

The Jesuits of Lisbon

Antero Moreira de Mendonça, a young natural scientist, has long hated the Jesuits. In 1755, an earthquake of biblical proportions strikes Lisbon and the Jesuits use the destruction as an opportunity to preach about the wrath of God. The quake also provides Antero with a chance for avenging himself on the Order. But Gabriel Malagrida, the Jesuit leader revered as a prophet, proves to be a powerful enemy. With help from Leonor, a German merchant’s daughter, Antero succeeds in escaping from the dungeon and the hangman. But what Antero doesn’t know is that Leonor is among Malagrida’s followers. Who holds the keys to Leonor’s heart – Antero or her vicious fellow believers?

The Mystery

Munich 1336. Nemo is a master of disguise. He has every reason to conceal his true identity because he bears a dangerous secret: the legacy of the Cathars. However, Nemo’s past catches up with him when Amiel of Ax comes to Munich. Amiel is the charismatic head of a secret church spreading through Munich’s underground. Now the Inquisition and William of Ockham, the renowned English Franciscan friar and confidant of the German emperor, are willing to join forces to destroy Amiel. Nemo is caught between the two fronts, thus initiating a dramatic fight about the sacred legacy. The Mystery is not only a gripping read, but also a journey into a fascinating past. Titus Müller based his novel on historic persons and facts, skillfully melding them into a story full of suspense.

2007 published as »Das Mysterium« by Rütten & Loening, Berlin, 469 pages. Rights sold to: Netherlands (De Fontein)

Marked for Death

Basel 1348. Saphira, the daughter of the Jewish moneylender, Simon ben Levi, has fallen in love with Thomas von Baerenfels, a Christian knight. Thomas is a bit reticent, so his best friend, Christian Münch promises to help him overcome his shyness. However, this womanizer and daredevil abuses the trust placed in him and seduces the pretty feather seller. A terrible plot against the city’s Jews falls on fertile soil and takes root. Simon ben Levi is fatally wounded, but before he dies, he extracts a vow from his daughter that has far-reaching consequences.

The Spectacle Maker

In 1387, spectacle making is an extremely difficult task and only a few masters can command this skill. As masters of sight, spectacle makers have power where swords would fail. Courtenay, Archbishop of Canterbury, understands their importance: he wants to use them to crush the secret society of the Cloaked Knights because they are hiding Hereford, the outlawed professor who is illegally translating the bible into English. But Elias Rowe, one of the best spectacle makers, refuses to support Courtenay’s cause. When Elias’ young wife, Catherine, finds him dead in his workshop one morning, she is thrust into the power struggle between the archbishop and the secret society. All she wants to do is to learn her husband’s craft in order to find his murderers, instead, she could end up as collateral in a bloody war.

The Priest’s Daughter

In the mythical world of the 9th century, where forest spirits, martyrs, warlords, and idols hold sway, Alena fights for a dangerous love. The horse oracle at Rethra has demanded a human sacrifice, and Alena, the beautiful and intelligent daughter of the high priest, has fallen in love with the enemy soldier who is destined for the sacrificial altar. While the Franks and Slavs gird themselves for battle in the forests east of the Elbe, Alena fights for the life of her lover. A miracle occurs: an old god is reborn and a powerful opponent arises to strive against the priest of the oracle.

Calligrapher to the Bishop

817 AD: The proud city of Turin is threatened by the Saracens; however, the outlawed Germunt sees it as a sanctuary from the pursuers demanding his blood. Claudius, a Visigoth who is as belligerent as he is learned, has been dispatched as the city's new Bishop. He also happens to champion the heretical view that divine images should be banned. Claudius invites Germunt to be part of his court and educates him in the seven liberal arts. Germunt falls under the spell of writing, as if in thrall to a lover, and advances deeply into the secrets of calligraphy. Then the day comes when he must use his mastery of this art to save his own life.

NOVELLAS

Your Tracks in the Snow

In the quiet of the library, Stefan works on his portfolio for his art courses. When he encounters Lenja there, he doesn’t dare approach. Instead, he draws her. The two get to know each other and Lenja takes him, an atheist, to her church. She does warn him, however, »Don’t expect that God will be presented to you.« Lenja’s community doesn’t believe that the relationship has a future: they are simply too different. Yet when Lenja suffers a life crisis, Stefan resolves on the spot to rediscover the beauty of faith for her.

Dance with Me, Aurelia

London, 1647: Strict Puritanism has reached its point of greatest influence. Oliver Cromwell has even forbidden the celebration of Christmas, based on the reasoning that the Christian celebrations are mixed with heathen traditions, and are therefore not biblically acceptable. John is a young man raised in the Puritan faith. His father died of alcoholism and he has learned from his foster parents that a godly life is based on abstinence and discipline. He is firmly determined to do everything in his power to avoid his father’s fate. However, he then encounters the beautiful, vivacious Aurelia Fox, and his worldview is completely shattered.

The Creator’s Voice

There are many events and people in the Bible who receive only a brief reference. This makes it easy to overlook how revolutionary and magnificent these briefly-sketched incidents actually were. Titus Müller has researched the historical background and has worked to look at these situations from the perspective of those who were involved in them. His emotionally captivating narration provides one view of how the participants might have lived through these times. A marvelous read for anyone who would like to re-experience well-known stories from the Old Testament in a fresh way.

Violins of Hope

»He had not realized how urgently his soul needed music, what hunger he felt for it. It was what made him human again.« A creaking sound, steel on steel. Wagons are locked shut. The brothers Marek and Stani suspect what’s coming: This journey will end in disaster. But Marek refuses to give up the hope of survival and clings to his violin case. … More than half a century later, Amnon Weinstein bends over a scratched and discoloured violin. He has made more than 60 stringed instruments that belonged to persecuted Jews sing once more. He calls them ›violins of hope‹. Today they are played in the world’s greatest concert halls. A story based on true events about the power of music. And the tale of an exceptional violin maker who does everything to ensure that the victims of the Holocaust are not forgotten.

Silent Night

»Silent night, holy night« – the song was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818. Today it is considered the most famous Christmas carol in the world. Interwoven with a narrative full of light and shadow, breaks and reconciliation, Titus Müller explains how it came to be.

He Who Calms the Storm

We think we know Jesus. But are we truly aware of the explosive nature of the things He said and did some two thousand years ago? The Bible offers us only a glimpse, and when reading it we often overlook how revolutionary, incredible and great the events described really were. Titus Müller has dug deeper, attempting to understand the situations as they were. His accounts are emotionally gripping, and it feels as if we are there ourselves. Come on a journey into the past, and discover for example what it meant for a Roman captain to leave his legionary camp, go to Jesus and ask Him to heal his servant. Or what the crowds thought of Jesus approaching a tax collector at the tax office and inviting him to become His disciple. Allow yourself to be moved by the sheer relevance and brilliance of the Bible’s stories.

Happy Is He

Happy is he – it was with these words that Francis of Assisi began one of his writings, the so-called Beatitudes. He was poor, he was infirm, and he had little left to lose. But he was truly happy, because he knew where he belonged: with God. The son of a wealthy cloth merchant, he was born in the year 1182 in the Italian town of Assisi. In his youth, he went from one party to another, seducing the most beautiful women. At 23 years of age he changed his life radically, giving his clothes to a beggar and renouncing his vast patrimony. In a dilapidated chapel, God said to him: »Francis, go and repair My house.« But it wasn’t just about the church he was in; it became clear to him that God had meant the Church as an institution. At first ridiculed, soon he was joined by more and more young men. This community would later become the Franciscan Order. In his new book, Titus Müller tells the story of a passionate quest for God and a great love for mankind and all of Creation.

2014 published as »Glücklich der Mensch« by Adeo Verlag, Asslar, 176 pages.

The Snow Crystal Collector

Wilson Bentley collects snowflakes. To him they are wonders of breathtaking beauty. Some think he’s mad. But for Mina, who is increasingly fascinated by him and his work, Wilson becomes a guide to another world. »He held the board out into the falling snow, delirious with joy. He was a treasure hunter, an explorer, a discoverer of worlds; he felt free as a bird, more akin to the heavens than the earth.« A story based on true events.

NON-FICTION

C.S. Lewis – A Life in Letters

C. S. Lewis was one of the most influential novelists of the twentieth-century. He was more than just a brilliant author, he was also a magnificent writer of letters, who cherished deep friendships with the most varied of people. His letters were fascinating, emotional, affectionate, full of wisdom, humor, and practical theology. This book contains a selection of his correspondence with relatives, friends, and fans. By reading his letters, we accompany C. S. Lewis through his entire life, beginning in his youth and ending just a few weeks before his death. A deep, uncensored look into the thoughts, heart, and soul of the great author.

2020 published by Adeo Verlag, Asslar, 320 pages.

Marvel at the Happiness in the Inconspicuous

That which lies close at hand yet far away. The tiny and the enormous. The visible and the unseen. Titus Müller casts his eyes on all of it. He invites us the be newly amazed at the miracles in the everyday, and narrates fascinating tales about famous personalities: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, whose life-long passion was the fly; Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, a hobbyist research who invented a microscope in the 17th century; or Rainer Maria Rilke, who was deeply moved by a tiny insect. It is good to look at things in more detail. Because happiness is often hidden in inconspicuous things.

2020 published by bene!/Droemer Knaur, Munich, 128 pages.

The Virtually Forgotten Art of Writing Letters

We are currently on the verge of unlearning how to wait. We want things immediately, on demand on our screens. In contrast, a letter can spend days in route. The sender has to carefully think it through, write it down, fold it, and insert in its envelope. The sender physically touches it throughout this process. In our digital world, this is something special. Yet many things don’t arise quickly, but only delicately and with time. In this book, Titus Müller tells stories about special letters and letter exchanges: from Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck, Harry Rowohlt, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, C. S. Lewis, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Rosa Luxemburg. Gaby Trombello-Wirkus, a graphic artist with a passion for beautiful writing, contributes to the ›practical‹ side, with essential tips and valuable ideas about how one can design their own letters with style and vibrancy.

2020 published by Adeo Verlag, Asslar, 224 pages.

Just Take a Walk

If you take a walk, you’re underway and not on Facebook. If you take a walk, you are calm and move forward. If you take a walk, you’re simply happy. An increasing number of people are deciding to switch off – yet not stand still. They go offline, leave the smartphone behind, and stroll off into real life. They take a walk. They couldn’t care less: they may have traveled in ways that are particularly fast, been places that are especially cool, or marvelously spectacular. They have flown around the world, climbed mountains, and run marathons through cities. Yet now they have rediscovered that most beautiful of virtues: they have found serenity. Therefore, they take a walk. Because they know that if you take a walk, you don’t have to reach any goals.

2019 published by Arche Verlag, Hamburg, 224 pages.

Happiness has Little Chocolate Fingers

Jona is supposed to eat his potatoes, but doesn’t want to. He says: »I’m a lion!« This is my chance to encourage him. »Lions are very hungry. The lion wants to eat.« Jona sees it differently. »Lions don’t like potatoes. The lion is leaving.« Then he stands up from the table and leaves, as if this were obvious. Titus Müller narrates stories that catch those special moments that drive parents to the edge of despair – and also the other circumstances that leave one in stitches or emotionally tearing up. He knows the truth: when it comes to children, the years fly by and individual moments become eternal.

2017 published by Adeo Verlag, Asslar, 192 pages.

Happiness Has a Thousand Colors

Titus Müller shows us how to rediscover the treasures we have long since lost. The art of waiting. The art of serenity. The art of not fretting. The art of living consciously in a moment.

2012 published as »Glück hat tausend Farben« by Adeo Verlag, Asslar. 176 pp.

On Happiness in Everyday Life

Everyday life does not have to be drab! You will smile when you read about what Titus Mueller experiences and how he writes about it. It is so easy to see yourself in his position. His anecdotes also get you thinking about yourself and the people dear to you ... about work and recreation ... about life ... about love ... about faith. Titus Mueller reminds us, that life can be viewed from two sides. And he gives advice how and where we can have small, colorful, happy experiences.

New revised edition, published March 2021, 190 pages. 2010 published as »Das kleine Buch vom Alltagsglück« by Brunnen Verlag, Gießen.

To Live From Happiness

How do you find the little miracles in daily life? How do you enjoy them? Using everyday stories, this book will help you to live more intensively, happily, and thankfully. Whether you submerge yourself in the bath to hear your own heart beat, smile at a stranger, or make a sandwich using odd ingredients, this book – with its suggestions and amusing tales – will help you break out of your rut.

Enlarged revised edition, published January 2022, 240 pages. 2006 published as »Vom Glück zu leben« by Brunnen Verlag, Gießen. Rights sold to: Poland (Wydawnictwo Św. Wojciecha)