4. Favorite dish specific for your country?

Oof, tough choice because Croatian kitchen is so good! I'm going to say baked štrukle (a type of cheese pastry) with sour cream.

8. Do you get confused with other nationalities? if so, which ones and by whom?

I guess I don't. I traveled quite a bit throughout my life (and I still do), so I managed to witness a lot of different cultures and nationalities. I think they're all special in their own way, even if it might not seem that way on first sight (to an outsider).

11. Favorite native writer/poet?

Antonija Mežnarić - a good friend and an amazing folk horror writer! Most of her work is in English, so it's accessible to a wider audience. If you like short stories, queer rep and Slavic mythology, I'd definitely recommend her collection "Mistress of Geese"!

Marija Jurić Zagorka - a classic. She wrote probably the most popular historical fiction series called "The Witch of Grich". Sadly, it's not available on English, but it's an exciting combination of action, love, and fight for female rights.

I would write out a few more (because I cannot pick just one), but I am yet to read through more of our native books and decide on my favorite authors.

(Oh, btw, if anybody reading this wants to read something by a Croatian author, but doesn't know the language, I warmly recommend Shtriga, a small Croatian publisher that has quite a few books available on English. :D )

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samo se udalji i dobro gledaj

i na svako svoje pitanje

dobićeš jedini pravi odgovor,

sve ostalo može biti

još jedna dobro osmišljena

laž.

Jednom si pitala zašto tvrdim da kad pišem o ljubavi zapravo pišem o smrti.

Netko negdje nekome u rukama nosi cvijeće i posipa večeri prah šećerom. I ne primjećuju smrt te budale kako im se prikrada kao mačka.

Moj problem s tobom je taj što uz tebe i ja pomislim da sam besmrtan.

Ljubav pretvara čovjeka u neopreznu budalu.

Zato je ona isto što i smrt.