7-01-2023 4:12am

BASH Grad and Author Katarina Illona Writes for Kids and Adults

Lesley Misko Editor

by Jane Stahl

Katarina Illona, BASH grad, Class of She’s-Not-Telling, knows who she is and is not only content but willing to share her experiences in order to provide acknowledgement, encouragement, support, and validation to her readers.

Her most recent publication—a book of poetry—entitled Anxious Thoughts from an Awkward Mind—pretty much says it all. Katarina, self-described as OCD, has found writing poetry in free verse a liberating experience. “Much of my life, I believed that poetry had to rhyme—had to have a beat and a fixed meter,” she shares. “When I tried writing—just letting the words flow—I found the flexibility tough for me at first, like it wasn’t ‘real poetry.’”

But in time, she found that reflecting on her feelings and sharing them without consideration of rhyme or meter while growth-producing, was therapeutic and satisfying. “I found that in understanding myself better, I came to feeling good about myself,” she explains.

“In publishing the book, I’m hopeful that, in my goal of being authentic and transparent, others will realize that if they’re anxious, as I often am, they’ll know they’re not alone. And I’m hoping to decrease the stigma involved with admitting we’re sometimes anxious.”

Katarina had some help with the publication of Anxious Thoughts from an Awkward Mind. Help with formatting and resources from the publisher made her first-time experience do-able and less anxiety-producing.

Katarina’s first book—a self-published project she took on during the pandemic—is a children’s book starring two of her cats and was inspired by her glasses that she found on the kitchen floor upon waking up—glasses that weren’t there when she went to bed.

“I began to imagine what antics and adventures my cats went on while I was fast sleep. And so, I wrote and illustrated the first book in the series: Bedtime Tails: A New Adventure and am getting ready to write the second book,” she adds.

The book follows the adventures of two cats—Daisy and Perkins. “Daisy is playful and energetic—much like my husband,” Katarina offers. “Perkins was an ‘only child’ in the family for a time and at first resents Daisy, but through their adventures he begins to value his relationship with Daisy. He’s definitely more anxious and skittish and prefers relaxing and spending time on the couch—much like me,” she concludes.

Katarina added a coloring book of black and white illustrations from Bedtime Tails: A New Adventure to allow children the opportunity to express their creativity through the project.

While Katarina, a communications major in college, thought she’d be writing a series of captivating long novels of magic and adventure, she’s found plenty to do following the antics of Daisy and Perkins and exploring her own inner world through her poetry.

Both books are available on Amazon, sometimes at the Boyertown Area Historical Society from Katarina’s mother Luann Zambanini and one day at Studio B Art Gallery.

Bedtime Tails: A New Adventure (Amazon): https://a.co/d/eSSTKgl

Bedtime Tails: A New Adventure - Coloring Book (Amazon): https://a.co/d/e8zfNh5

Anxious Thoughts from an Awkward Mind (Amazon): https://a.co/d/dKe86pU

Author website: https://katarinaillona.com/

Bedtime Tails website: https://bedtimetailsadventures.com/

Author’s social media: https://www.facebook.com/Katarinaillona/ & https://www.instagram.com/katarinaillona_Bedtime Tails social media:

https://www.facebook.com/bedtimetailsadventures & https://www.instagram.com/bedtimetails_

The conversation with Katarina from which this article was created can be found on the "B Inspired" podcast, available on your favorite podcast platform including Spotify, Google, Castbox, Breaker, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic, and Apple.