In the fantasy novel Marthilda the Sorceress by Franc Mikša for adults and youth featuring a fight between fantastic, scientific and erotic elements, the author complements his boyhood mental and emotional world with the knowledge, experience and imagination of a grown-up man. Quite often adults – more or less subconsciously – escape into the realm of imagination to avoid, if only for a few moments, the stress caused by increasingly complex and superficial interpersonal relations and to flee the intense life’s tempo.
In the opening chapters, the author evokes memories from his childhood spent in Ormož, a picturesque ancient rural town with a mighty castle and a splendid park lying at the foot of the vine-covered hills above the Drava River. The adventures of the mischievous and daring sorceress Marthilda are narrated by the witch’s privy councillor Ikimus to his great-nephew Izhoy. Izhoy eventually persuades his great-uncle to allow into their confidence his friends Admanat, Bardo, Vetra and a German shepherd Vibes. With a morsel of magic power gifted to Izhoy by the sorceress he manages to temporarily age himself and his friends in order to be able to listen to stories not suitable for children.
The sorceress likes to play irresponsibly with her almost limitless magic powers. Among other feats, she speaks at a symposium on quantum physics; experiments with relativity theory in practice; discovers the panacea – mother of all drugs; enthuses over acupuncture; acquires immense knowledge about the universe with the help of the mighty sorcerer Dreamagician, ruler of the Dream Universe; and cruelly settles accounts with enemy witches and their ally Katanaraj the Dragon. When she sinks into depression, Ikimus advises her to establish an interplanetary diplomatic network and create the Planet of Total Freedom, the Constitution of which contains a single sentence: Nothing is forbidden, everything is allowed. Later, part of her nose breaks off when she takes a fall, and the surgery is performed by an aesthetic surgeon, who restores the nose’s magic powers. She falls in love with Ikimus and sends him on a challenging trip with a prototype of a multi-use vehicle. A world-famous designer designs thongs for her behind. She is tormented by nightmares and weird ideas. She decorates Ikimus with the highest planetary honour, and Dreamagician appoints him the ruler of the Thonguniverse. The sorceress becomes obsessed with a desire for her own offspring and she tricks a narcissistic handsome man into becoming the father of her twins … The disenchanted sorceress abolishes the Planet of Total Freedom when she finds out that the prevailing behavioural patterns on the planet are very similar to those which have been ruining the human civilisation on Earth.
The readers will have an opportunity to laugh at the witty ideas springing up in their own minds, which are – sadly – very rarely shared with others. After having read a few pages of the novel, you will see whether you have managed to retain at least some of the child-like playfulness and dreams.

The novel The Mysteries from Otočice by Amalija Jelen Mikša takes us back in the time from 1862 to the WWII to the Otočec Castle. The Count Albino Margheri was a heartbreaker, yet his family was no better, upsetting the world with love affairs and scandals. Most notorious among his four daughters were Countess Florentina and Countess Rodriga. Their restrained and deeply religious brother Rudolf was trying very hard to hinder their impropriate liaisons. Florentina, forty-four, fell in love with almost twenty years younger coachman Johan Jordan. Allegedly, Rodriga had a relationship with her eighteen years younger nephew. The novelist excites the reader with her electrifying descriptions of love scenes. However, she also thoroughly describes the places and people who once inhabited the banks of the Krka River.
In order to present the storyline as credibly as possible, the novelist devised the plot with a vivid imagination, yet based on the data from the archives, testimonies, articles from the newspapers of the time. She found great support in Mrs. Vida Jordan, the relative of the handsome coachman Johan. Vida shared precious materials from her personal collection, even the original artifacts from the Otočec Castle, which kindled the author’s curiosity and investigative thirst.

Both books were published by publishing house Obzorja Maribor.