Vinko Vrbanic

Dear Reader,

I put my stories on paper after re-telling them multiple times to my family and friends. Thus, the demarcation line between real and imaginary fades to let imagination seep into a fundamentally truthful story.

I published my first short stories in a local periodical Moji Vinkovci in 2009 and in 2010. In 2011, I published my first book Furmani - Sokolov let with two distinct stories bound together. My second title Glasovi u šumi was published in May 2012, and is available in the book-stores . Please, watch on your radar an English translation under the title Voices in the Forest because it will pleasantly surprise you. At the moment, I am working on my third book falling in historical fiction genre.

I was born on May 12, 1951 in Novi Varos, Croatia. My father read novels of August Senoa, Victor Hugo, Ferdinand Gregorovius, and many more. These classic writers most likely shaped my early interest in history. During primary education, I scored very well. Then, I studied agriculture in Pozega, Croatia and commuted from home to school by a train for four years.

Upon a promise for a scholarship, I moved to Vinkovci, Croatia to continue studying. The company offering the scholarship withdrew from the contract and I lost much needed financial support. I gave up studies and then worked for a brief period in a local cattle-food factory. I daydreamed to build a brick house; so, I saved some money and took a loan from a close friend to buy a piece of land for the future construction. The event cemented my decision to stay in Vinkovci, Croatia.

While I was working on excavations in historical places, I met with salvage archaeologists overseeing construction sites, and discussed history with them. I wrote a novella Sokolov let (The Flight of the Falcon), but again did not publish anything. During Croatian War of Independence, I reflected on early life and put on paper a coming-of-age novel Glasovi u šumi (Voices in the Forest).

My employer provided a limited financial support; so, I picked the text from scattered handwritten material. I bound an informal book, which the company gave away to business clients. Then, I published a few selected stories in a periodical Moji Vinkovci (My Vinkovci).
I gave Sokolov let (The Flight of the Falcon) to Ruzica Cerni from Ilok to organize the material and capture historical inaccuracies.

During an e-mail correspondence, Ivo Zuric from Zagreb, Croatia described the stories as inspired and excellent literature. His words encouraged me to remove from the manuscript a few disconnected stories, and to reshuffle the text. I published Furmani i Sokolov let (Carters and The Flight of the Falcon) in 2011 and Glasovi u sumi (Voices in the Forest) in 2012.

Yours truly,

Vinko Vrbanic