February News 2024.

The shortest month is over.

Nothing much happened.

At least I no longer need to visit my dentist. Hopefully. Not until the next check-up in 5 months or so. And it looks like perimenopause is playing tricks with my teeth (and not just with them). Yay. Plus the weather, unnaturally warm for this time of the year, is making it hard for everyone.

I wrote a few more hint fictions this month. I’m not sure how many; I wrote them whenever inspiration hit, which was while I was reading some books by Neil Gaiman.

I should write more.

And speaking of reading…

Currently reading: Illuminations by T. Kingfisher. I’m not sure why this one isn’t among the books for kids, since it’s very obviously a book for kids. Oh, well, I’m enjoying it either way, it’s a good (and fun, and magical, and adventurous) book.

Recently read: The Futurological Congress and Peace on Earth by Stanislaw Lem (Polish science fiction, lots of really good ideas, lots of humor, but the style didn’t suit me), T by Victor Pelevin (I loved it, zen, the dreadful fate of writers, what’s real and what isn’t, what can we do about it, lots of philosophy and lots of action and this brief description is not doing this book any justice, go on and read it), The Galveston Diet by Mary Claire Haver (could be really useful, if only I made myself stick to it), Trigger Warning, The Sleeper and the Spindle (loved it!), Fragile Things and Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman (I liked some stories better, some not so much, but overall, I’m glad I read all of them), Perfektni perfekt by Ilija Bakić (an interesting experimental novel written 30 years ago and published recently), The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss (silly and fun), The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler (wonderful sci-fi with some very satisfying moments, loved it), Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire (the next instalment of Wayward Children, love the series), What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher (I have yet to read a book of hers that I don’t like), Satan Loves You by Grady Hendrix (hilarious and totally insane; not for the easily offended, because they’re guaranteed to be offended), and Sveto i svetogrđe u postsekularnoj Srbiji by Danica Igrutinović (essays on the sacred and the blasphemous in postsecular Serbia, really good stuff, well thought-out, and with well-placed stings).

Yeah, it was a good month for reading, though it left me feeling a bit drained.

Currently watching: Doom Patrol, season 4. As fun as usual.

Recently watched: a cat documentary. Another one is waiting for me.

Currently working on: I should be writing. Now, if only I could manage to stay awake…

See ya next time!

January News 2024.

The longest month is finally over…

And not much happened.

I’ve been spending some time with my dentist, and it’s not over yet. Yay. Not. But hopefully it will be over soon.

I’m not sure how many hint fictions I wrote this month. One, I think. With all the holidays and various interruptions, it felt like the month was dragging on and on and on.

I did read some books, so…

Currently reading: The Groomer by Jon Athan. I’ve heard about that one in one of the Facebook book groups, and I got curious because so many avid readers of psychological thrillers (so, not the faint of heart) were unable to read it. Too brutal for them. Especially the first few chapters where kids are tortured and murdered.

Well. I can’t say that I enjoy such scenes (I most certainly don’t!), but I didn’t find them as disturbing as the others did. Maybe because the book is torture after torture after torture (most of it “vigilante justice”, after the kids part), with characters I don’t like or particularly care about, maybe because there are too many cliches for my taste, maybe because it all feels somehow lifeless… I mean, it’s not that I want some kids to be tortured, even if they’re fictional characters, but I just couldn’t really care.

At least I’ve learned a new word: hurtcore.

Recently read: Mačka je mačka je mačka je mačka (an anthology of stories with cats in them, by various authors; the title translates to A Cat Is a Cat Is a Cat Is a Cat; kitties! Lots of kitties!), Crna Anđelija by Srđan Tešin (a short story collection about youth and childhood, childhood in a small town, various life moments and disappointments, there’s an animal in each story… Interesting, though I found the scenes where animals got hurt to be more disturbing than The Groomer, because they felt more real), The Ring and The Spiral by Koji Suzuki (weird Japanese horror, pretty good), Legends & Lattes and Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree (cosy fantasies with cute ideas and fun moments, but lacking depth), and The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings (urban fantasy, a love letter to New Orleans, and one of those books where it feels as if nothing was removed from the first draft, and yet, it not only works, the book feels impressive at times; I loved it).

Currently watching: once again, nothing. I keep planning to, but then I go and read a book.

Currently working on: work, when any, but the season is slow; I should be writing my own stuff, but I can barely manage to stay awake, so… At least this time I’m not late with this blog post.

See ya next time!

December News 2023.

Better late than never…

Happy New Year, Merry Christmas, and I hope you had great holidays, no matter what you were celebrating!

I wrote one or two hint fictions in December. Not enough. I should be writing.

I started a Ko-fi page, and now you can use it to support me (and to read hint fiction 3 months before it shows up here).

I’m also more active on Instagram, even posting a reel here and there (cat videos, whenever I can, because cats). So far it mostly attracted people trying to sell me services I never asked for, and even claiming those services were tailored to my needs (nope, they’re not).

And something else happened, pretty cool: the anthology with my story in it finally got out, and there was a promotion, too! I couldn’t attend it, but if you want to see what it looked like, here it is:

And here’s the book itself!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ivana Milakovic (@ivana.angel011)

Which brings me to:

Currently reading: Nijanse gladi (the title translates to Shades of Hunger), the anthology with my story in it. Some of the writers are beginners, some are experienced, some of the illustrators are experienced, some are still in high school (which is awesome), there’s fantasy, horror, adventure, drama, lots of food, and lots of good old fun.

Recently read: mostly books by local authors, plus some Deadpool comics (Deadpool Corps, about a team of Deadpools from alternate universes, super-fun) and An IDIOT never knows when to quit (a funny comic by Darko Macan). The books are: Po zanimanju: Ana Miloš by Miloš K. Ilić (about how he managed to pretend to be a female author for years), Vilijam Gibson ili Fragmentarni pogled na kiber-pank by Ilija Bakić (interesting essays about William Gibson and cyberpunk), Svi vole mornare i Plamen Donbasa: eseji o Trećem svetskom ratu by Vladimir Kolarić (an unusual short story collection and a bunch of essays about the Russia-Ukraine situation, plus a lot more), and Vukovi i pastiri by Tajana Poterjahin (a historical novel about some lesser known stuff from the World War II).

I was reading a lot in November, and things slowed down in December.

Currently watching: nothing. I want to watch a lot of things, but can’t seem to wake up properly or shake off the cold that refuses to go away. I keep having nap attacks.

Currently working on: waiting for the inspiration to return so I can keep working on hint fiction, plus trying to be more active in various social media, for future needs.

So, another not-so-exciting month, except that this time I got a book with my story in it, which is cool.

See ya next time!