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Betraying
not a glimmer of thought in her deep-set wandering eyes, the author treads a fine line between profound stupidity and misunderstood
genius...
Ivana Hrubá is a lovely, lovely
girl and a writer of some notable talent, the sum of which, for lack of other options, will very modestly be noted
here. Specializing in writing bold, quirky and outrageously entertaining fiction,
Ivana is what we call an undiscovered gem, an exotic island waiting to be explored or, as some people say, a territory best
left uncharted. Ivana devised her first novel
at the tender age of twelve when she was but a wee little girl wearing out her brother's hand-me-downs,
chasing the geese off the village green in
her native Czech Republic which was then under communist rule. Filled with poultry and very long sentences, Ivana's
idyllic childhood came to an abrupt end in 1983 when she and her family crossed the Alps on foot to seek a new life free of
communists and their blasted queues. After a year spent frolicking in a West German refugee camp, the
family finally had a gutful of that sort of adventure and settled in Australia in 1984 where
they've been living it up ever since. Forward twenty years. Following the publication of her debut thriller 'A Decent Ransom', Ivana has
developed the habit of talking about herself in the third person, a skill that comes in particularly handy when writing biographies.
To this end, Ivana has also conquered her fear of appearing ridiculous due to excessive bragging as can be seen in this very
intro right here. In the tradition of all gifted folk, working for a living has never appealed to our author; therefore, Ivana
has largely given up on the idea, preferring to spend her time writing books. How long she can keep it up will depend on how
well her books sell... Bearing this in mind, Ivana, always one to look on the bright side, has been busy putting her fingers
to the keyboard writing a new novel, a work of such monumental significance it has to, for the time being, remain shrouded
in mystery but you can sneak a peek at the first chapter on the Cabbage, Strudel & Trams: A novel in Three Acts page on
this very site.
In
the wake of the tremendous success of her debut novel (18 copies sold in North America alone) Ivana has retreated from her
adoring public to gain some much needed perspective on her life. These days Ivana can be found traipsing around her garden
practicing the ancient art of Feng Shui which, in Ivana’s case, consists of pouring manure on her flower beds and cutting
shrubbery into interesting geometrical shapes. Yes, a regular Edward Sissorhands, Ivana’s letting her creative juices
flow in many a new and varied direction. Having successfully faded from the public view, Ivana has been able to spread her
creative wings and work as a freelance writer completely undetected, dabbling in corporate copywriting, theatre promotion
and wedding speeches. Finding these ventures a little more financially rewarding than her high-brow literary pursuits, Ivana
has decided to seek out more of them so if you, dear reader, find yourself in need of a writer, give her a bell. She’ll
be delighted to get involved.
At the close of each day, Ivana likes to unwind with a vat of wine (at times even
two vats), drawing cartoons for her own amusement. To unwind from that pleasure, she takes her dogs, cats, mice, lice, ponies,
chickens and goldfish for a walk down the beach. It's a good life for everyone involved and until recently Ivana enjoyed
herself tremendously in it. However, recent events, namely the untimely demise of her publisher Kunati Inc., have left
Ivana feeling rather flat, like she had lost the key to the executive washroom. Yes, the Key to the Executive Washroom! Some
of you who are fellow Published Authors will understand completely the scope of her devastation, for obtaining the Key to
the Executive Washroom is the Mecca of all writers. It comes as no surprise then that having once obtained it, Ivana had every
intention of holding onto it. Yes, Ivana had liked having that key. Not
a day went by without Ivana mentioning to all and sundry that she was a Published Author with a Two Book Deal and that Sales
of A Decent Ransom: A Story of a Kidnapping Gone Right were
Trending Upwards. On the days when Fan Mail arrived, there was no stopping her; armed with her trusty wine funnel, she trumpeted
the news far and wide, catching unsuspecting passers-by at the bus stop, at the bakery, and on the school run. Yes, people,
those were giddy times. Ah well, all good things must
come to an end. Her publisher 's exit from the market economy had, for a moment or two, dampened Ivana’s spirits but
she had since got over it and is now determined to get herself another key to the executive loo. She’s even hoping for
a bigger, more established and dare she say more financially stable executive loo to offer her a key.
Will it happen? It might. After all, the Lord does work in mysterious ways, so
it’s onwards and upwards for our intrepid young(ish) author who has pulled herself up by the boot straps and has been
firing off queries left, front and centre. We’ll keep you posted how it pans out. p.s.
To see how it's panning out for our author, go to News and Events @ this website ...

Favorites: What makes life worth living: good conversation, good coffee, chocolate,
original ideas, saving the planet for all creatures big and small, kindness, people who do not take themselves seriously,
European forests, Prague, Ostrava in the early 1980s, cobble-stoned streets anywhere, cute bear cubs, skateboarding, walking
dogs on the beach, traveling back in time, writing, drawing cartoons, and of course, good books...
Other favourites include: Old
people driving slowly on busy roads on busy days, geometrically shaped trees, saxophone solos, people who won't buy the book
but will watch the movie, queues at the bank, queues at the taxi rank, queues anywhere really, paying good money for a concert
ticket only to find a real tall person in the seat in front of you, inexplicable skin irritations, haemorroids, women of that
'certain age' asking people how old they think they are, fat people suffering high self-esteem, skinny people suffering low
self-esteem, men with beards, women with beards, men with an eye for a pretty young thing, women who date inmates, all sequels
and prequels, newlyweds, new parents and people who relentlessly flog their books any which way possible ... 
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