My roots

I was born in 1970 in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, a country that lies between Italy and Austria. Let me tell all those who have never been to Slovenia yet but will come here one day that you’ll be pleasantly surprised as your plane approaches the airport and you see all the mountains, surrounded by thick forests. You’ll admire the undulating green blanket that covers almost the whole of the country. And between the mountains there are small towns and villages. The capital Ljubljana is also surrounded by hills. I’ve always liked the fact that it takes me only 10 minutes to reach the nearest hills from my apartment.
My mother completed secondary education in economics and spent most of her life working in the commercial sector. My father had a doctorate in electricity supply and specialized in protection against lightning. They both influenced me – my mother by always liking interesting books and my father with his intellectual view of life.
I was also influenced by the fact that we were living in Yugoslavia when it was still ruled by a communist regime. Even as a child I felt angry because it was impossible to buy Milka chocolate or Manner or Lorentz biscuits, which were readily available in the neighboring Austria or Italy. I started desiring beautiful objects and products. I envied rich people who lived such easy, carefree lives.
I have to stress that even as a child I was a big dreamer. I dreamt about the wonderful life that awaited me. And, of course, later I was bitterly disappointed. But nonetheless I think that those dreams are one of the main reasons for my writing.
If I go even further back, when I was 8, I loved listening to stories. As I didn’t have many, I would hear the same ones 30 times or more. I knew them by heart and while listening to them I created my own images. This also influenced my imagination.