Ilona's World

Check out issue 4 of Wicked Karnival magazine. It includes poems, articles, short stories and artwork. (All things horror.) Though I haven't had the time to read the whole issue 4, here's a short review based on what I have read. What I'd like to tell you about is mainly that it contains horror poetry that is worth ckecking out. I really like Louise Bohmer's 'Vampires Cheat (And Werewolves Are Sore Losers)', it's a very funny account of a night when monsters are playing cards. Darren Franz's The Forgotten Prisoner and Brian Yount's My Beast are also good ones. I probably like them so much, because this is also the way I like to write, telling stories, often from a characters point of view, and often showing them (including their thoughts) in just one particular moment of their life, but without nice endings, without wanting to accompany them all the way. The Forgotten Prisoner is a shorter one which leaves open many questions, whereas My Beast rev...

Last week I've been doing some editing for the book. I still have to make the final decisions about a few things, but it will soon be ready for its publication. (It's my first book of speculative poetry, 'Unearthly Companion' and it will soon be released. Would you like me to let you know about it when it appears? Then subscribe to my newsletter and I will notify you. Just send a blank email to Ilonahegedus-subscribe@yahoogroups.com .)

My review of Karen Koehler 's Stigmata is now online. You can read it here . Highly recommended.

It's a fascinating short story by Robert Silverberg , a real classic. Read it here .

Last week I wrote two poems. On August 20, we celebrated Saint Stephen, our first king and the founder of the state. (Fireworks, speeches, etc.) And just before that, on August 18, I celebrated my nameday. Namedays explained A nameday is like a birthday, only a bit less significant. But you still get presents and people wish you 'Happy Nameday'. So it's a bit like having two birthdays a year. August 18 is Ilona's Day, all Ilonas celebrate on this day. Each name is related to a certain day of the year, and you can also see the names in the calendar. (In Hungary.)

I've just read a nice short story, Fallen by Angeline Hawkes-Craig . It is worth reading. Read it here .

It's the home of a talented writer called Arinn Dembo . You can find there news, reviews, and you can also read some of her works. Don't forget to check out her poems . They are really good.

Weekly total: I wrote two poems last week. One is a new version of an old one, though I rarely rewrite my poems. Music: Saxon, Doro, KISS

Check out Murder Ride Radio , the radio for horror fans. I think it's great to have something like that. And the music is good.

Cat City is the greatest achievement of Hungarian animators. It has an action-packed storyline with plenty of humour. This cartoon, Cat City is now a cult classic and an often quoted one. That's not without a reason. The dialogues are brilliantly written and are hilarious, and the characters are likeable. The original title (Macskafogo) means literally Cat-catcher. According to the story, the cats are planning the extermination of all mice from the planet. However, the mice have a superhero to turn to, a James Bond-like mouse with great physical strength, teeth hard like diamonds, a god sense of humor, and the cleverness of an Einstein. He is sent to a Japanese-seeming city called Pokio, to get the plans of a new weapon from a mouse scientist. While he is working undercover the mice need another person to draw attention away from him, and this other mouse is also sent to Japan. He is a bit over-weight, but he is a very warm-hearted mouse, who devotes all his time to playing his tru...

I have read Lords of Swords, but I cannot reveal more about it at the moment. My review of it will soon appear at the Novelspot website. I'll post the link here. In the meantime, check out the links in my earlier posts, as some of those poems and stories are probably still available, (and they are worth reading).

It's a heroic fantasy anthology. It includes some really good stories, (but more on it later.) I'll go back reading...

I wrote three poems last week. Some scary stuff included. :) Reviewing horror books and watching horror movies can be an inspiration. Music: Van Halen, Tom Jones, Bonny Tyler, Bon Jovi.

My review of Dark Highway is now online. It's an entertaining zombie tale by Dan Thomas with plenty of black humor. You can read it here .

This is a nice online magazine with speculative (sci-fi, fantasy and horror) fiction and poetry. It includes some poems that are really worth checking out. Read Screen Savior , a funny poem by Vincent Miskell . Another one like that is Reflections of the Invisible Man By Mikal Trimm , with some interesting ideas on invisibility. Read it here .

"Mermaid Beach" is a story with a quite interesting concept of mermaids. It is a story by Brazilian horror writer Douglas T. Araujo . Read it here .

I wrote only one poem last week and it was inspired by a book. Music for the week: Nightwish, Doro, Cher, Meat Loaf, Tom Jones, Danzig and Bon Jovi. (You may say it's a strange mixture, but I like them all.)

Here's a very interesting interview with African writer Thoko M. Banda . After reading it, check out his poems in the poetry section.