Previously published as Ilona the Hun novels, the story had received this honorable award
Coming soon
re-edited
The Ancestor's Secrets series
is not a literary masterpiece, but an easy read fantasy story. It
raises questions such as: what if there is a secret society with strict
rules and laws exist hidden among us? What if certain members come to
possess magical powers? What if those abilities could be used to do good
or evil? The story follows a young doctor’s struggle to understand and
accept her inherited abilities as well as growing into the role she was
born to. Her world turns upside down overnight as she juggles everyday
life, discovers her clan’s well-guarded secrets and finds love. She has
been evacuated from her easy and steady life, and is forced to face the
unknown.
Ilona has been in love with her unsuspecting best friend, when a dashing stranger explodes into her life. The sudden magnetic feeling frightens her. Will he break her heart, or will he bring true happiness? She is an emergency room doctor, born into an ancient tribe which still exists hidden among us with its fiercely enforced rules. She doesn’t know much about her heritage besides legends and rituals. She begins to remember the forgotten instructions concealed as rhymes and discovers that she can rearrange the human body to its healthy state. This ability is exciting as well as frightening. She is conflicted between having confidence in her intelligence and inherited abilities while having no confidence as a woman. Her insecurity created barriers which keeps others out, and also keeps her caged in. A sinister dark man appears, Ilona connects his presence with the series of mysterious deaths around her. The growing magical abilities within her in the strange world of the Huns are beyond her wildest dreams. She can use her given gifts for absolute good or absolute evil; the choice is up to her. Ilona is determined to control and guide her own life. Resourceful and daring, she crosses the line and breaks the sacred rules. She must face the consequences as she starts fitting the puzzle pieces together and discovers the ancient tribal secrets that not only can change her future, but the future existence of her people as well.
Morana’s mansion was well-hidden
from prying eyes, deep in the woods on the mountain side. Her household
staff was not allowed to enter her private quarters, except Zelda, who
remained her trusted servant throughout the centuries.
The soft humming of her rotating, air-filled mattress relaxed her and protected her body from developing bed sores. Joland gave her eternal life, but couldn’t give her the power to renew her body, which became bones with wasted muscles and shriveled skin. Although her withered body was useless, the power of her mind allowed her to reach the remotest part of the world and beyond.
Morana closed her eyes and began searching the complicated network of the Collective Memory in her mind. She murmured under her breath, “Ha! The Elders took most of my powers away, but can’t hide everything from me. They never found out I could read every word that is written by every gifted Hun, after they reached maturity, and if they used the ancient letters given to them by the Ancestors.”
Morana’s prune-like face lit up with a grin, “Good girl Adel. You can’t talk to anyone about this, but you just wrote in your diary that the Elders are planning a meeting. Oh, I see. One of them is just about to take her last breath, and they need to choose her successor. Hmm… could I use it to my advantage? We’ll see. There is another interesting sentence; the servant of the Leaders wrote that she’s worried about Csenge. According to the girl, Csenge seems distant and unhappy. Let’s see what Csenge has been writing… What?” Morana shouted angrily, when she read Csenge’s note in her calendar, “The Chosen One, Ilona, is coming of Age today.”
Morana was furious, “I can get into the minds of those who are related to me, but I can’t get into the Elders’ meeting and see the Chosen One. Goddamn you Ancestors for taking everything from me, and damn you for tearing me away from the arms of my beloved, Joland. ”
We’ll be together again one day, my love. I’ll find a way somehow…
Suddenly, she started seeing unfamiliar, ancient Hun letters in her mind’s eye, as if someone, unknown to her, was writing them one by one, putting a sentence together.
Morana rejoiced, “Ilona’s diary! They hid her from me, but finally, I can see her diary.”
Morana prepared to channel her beloved, Joland, through time. Creating the connection between two dimensions would make her mentally exhausted for days, but she had to share the good news with him.
It took her a few minutes to empty her mind and concentrate all her energy to only one task, to break through the barrier between timelines, by using the power of her mind. When she finally broke through, in her mind’s eye, she saw Joland, resting in his tent.
She reached out to him, “My love, can you feel me?”
Startled, he sat up on his cot, “Yes! I can feel and hear you. Morana, I miss you so,”
“I have good news, my love, finally our time has come. I know who the Chosen One is.”
His answer came instantly, “Your good news is most welcomed, my love. I’ve been waiting for this moment for centuries.”
Morana’s dried-up body trembled with satisfaction, “She’s following the traditions, which will give me a chance to stop her. When she comes to her full powers, she could interfere and make sure the child is born in your timeline.”
“We cannot let that happen. When the foretold date passes and the child has not been born, your body will become youthful again, and it will stay young forever. Then, my love, we can unite, and we can rule the world together.”
“I’ve been waiting for this day for so long, and although, I’m confined to my bed, I have trained the orphans I took in years ago well. They will help me.”
“Our future together will be worth the sacrifices you have made.”
“We have both made sacrifices. Although my body is useless, they couldn’t take away the gift you shared with me, to be able to live forever.”
“We will be together again. I promise!”
“We will, darling. I’m losing contact, but I will channel you again when I have more news.”
“Love you forever.”
The connection between them faded. Morana was mentally exhausted, but smiled and closed her eyes. In her mind’s eye, she could see the ancient Hun letters as Ilona wrote them in her diary, “Write my little princess, and keep writing.”
Ilona has been in love with her unsuspecting best friend, when a dashing stranger explodes into her life. The sudden magnetic feeling frightens her. Will he break her heart, or will he bring true happiness? She is an emergency room doctor, born into an ancient tribe which still exists hidden among us with its fiercely enforced rules. She doesn’t know much about her heritage besides legends and rituals. She begins to remember the forgotten instructions concealed as rhymes and discovers that she can rearrange the human body to its healthy state. This ability is exciting as well as frightening. She is conflicted between having confidence in her intelligence and inherited abilities while having no confidence as a woman. Her insecurity created barriers which keeps others out, and also keeps her caged in. A sinister dark man appears, Ilona connects his presence with the series of mysterious deaths around her. The growing magical abilities within her in the strange world of the Huns are beyond her wildest dreams. She can use her given gifts for absolute good or absolute evil; the choice is up to her. Ilona is determined to control and guide her own life. Resourceful and daring, she crosses the line and breaks the sacred rules. She must face the consequences as she starts fitting the puzzle pieces together and discovers the ancient tribal secrets that not only can change her future, but the future existence of her people as well.
The soft humming of her rotating, air-filled mattress relaxed her and protected her body from developing bed sores. Joland gave her eternal life, but couldn’t give her the power to renew her body, which became bones with wasted muscles and shriveled skin. Although her withered body was useless, the power of her mind allowed her to reach the remotest part of the world and beyond.
Morana closed her eyes and began searching the complicated network of the Collective Memory in her mind. She murmured under her breath, “Ha! The Elders took most of my powers away, but can’t hide everything from me. They never found out I could read every word that is written by every gifted Hun, after they reached maturity, and if they used the ancient letters given to them by the Ancestors.”
Morana’s prune-like face lit up with a grin, “Good girl Adel. You can’t talk to anyone about this, but you just wrote in your diary that the Elders are planning a meeting. Oh, I see. One of them is just about to take her last breath, and they need to choose her successor. Hmm… could I use it to my advantage? We’ll see. There is another interesting sentence; the servant of the Leaders wrote that she’s worried about Csenge. According to the girl, Csenge seems distant and unhappy. Let’s see what Csenge has been writing… What?” Morana shouted angrily, when she read Csenge’s note in her calendar, “The Chosen One, Ilona, is coming of Age today.”
Morana was furious, “I can get into the minds of those who are related to me, but I can’t get into the Elders’ meeting and see the Chosen One. Goddamn you Ancestors for taking everything from me, and damn you for tearing me away from the arms of my beloved, Joland. ”
We’ll be together again one day, my love. I’ll find a way somehow…
Suddenly, she started seeing unfamiliar, ancient Hun letters in her mind’s eye, as if someone, unknown to her, was writing them one by one, putting a sentence together.
Morana rejoiced, “Ilona’s diary! They hid her from me, but finally, I can see her diary.”
Morana prepared to channel her beloved, Joland, through time. Creating the connection between two dimensions would make her mentally exhausted for days, but she had to share the good news with him.
It took her a few minutes to empty her mind and concentrate all her energy to only one task, to break through the barrier between timelines, by using the power of her mind. When she finally broke through, in her mind’s eye, she saw Joland, resting in his tent.
She reached out to him, “My love, can you feel me?”
Startled, he sat up on his cot, “Yes! I can feel and hear you. Morana, I miss you so,”
“I have good news, my love, finally our time has come. I know who the Chosen One is.”
His answer came instantly, “Your good news is most welcomed, my love. I’ve been waiting for this moment for centuries.”
Morana’s dried-up body trembled with satisfaction, “She’s following the traditions, which will give me a chance to stop her. When she comes to her full powers, she could interfere and make sure the child is born in your timeline.”
“We cannot let that happen. When the foretold date passes and the child has not been born, your body will become youthful again, and it will stay young forever. Then, my love, we can unite, and we can rule the world together.”
“I’ve been waiting for this day for so long, and although, I’m confined to my bed, I have trained the orphans I took in years ago well. They will help me.”
“Our future together will be worth the sacrifices you have made.”
“We have both made sacrifices. Although my body is useless, they couldn’t take away the gift you shared with me, to be able to live forever.”
“We will be together again. I promise!”
“We will, darling. I’m losing contact, but I will channel you again when I have more news.”
“Love you forever.”
The connection between them faded. Morana was mentally exhausted, but smiled and closed her eyes. In her mind’s eye, she could see the ancient Hun letters as Ilona wrote them in her diary, “Write my little princess, and keep writing.”
The author
Hello, my name is Erika M Szabo. I'm so glad you stopped by to read about my books.
I've been publishing Alternative Medicine related books. I love healing as passionately as I love to read. Growing up with a father who was a closet reader, some macho image that allowed him to only read in secret. After I caught him reading my book, The Lady of the Camellias, he shared his love of books with me and introduced me to many great books. Before I started writing this series, I had played with the idea of writing a fantasy story peppered with historical facts. The history of the Huns always fascinated me—they were my ancestors—although I decided that it was a stupid idea after I started reading about how to write a fiction book. I had no idea how to create a good story line or form characters and make up a plot, and I wasn’t a literary genius. But, the idea didn’t leave me alone, and I kept adding events and dialogues in my head to Ilona’s story. Not knowing how to do something properly had never prevented me from accepting a good challenge before, so I sat down at the computer and began writing. I've never been good at following rules or formulas; therefore, I discarded the instructions and made up my own rules. I began writing Ilona's story as a diary, for my own enjoyment, jotting down the ideas that swirled in my head was far better than being haunted by them. For months I kept writing and soon realized that I never had so much fun doing anything in my life before. Somehow the characters came to life on their own, and they developed under my furiously typing fingers. Pretty soon I realized that I written about four hundred pages. I gave the manuscript to my friends to read, and they urged me to publish it. I was elated when I received the publisher’s review about my story that said, “I want to give you my overall impression of your work: You have a terrific writing style. You have obviously done a significant amount planning and preparation in crafting your work. Your prose is nicely written with details that capture the reader. Right from the start your plot was very engaging. You do a nice job of slowly making your way through the story with details and a certain voice that allows your reader to really interact with the characters (who are all round and very nicely developed). The greatest value in fiction, it seems to me, lies in what we can learn about our own lives when we take time to analyze someone else’s — even if that someone else is just a character in a story. Characterization is one of the most important elements of any successful story. I always love it when I leave a story feeling like I know the characters. This is true for your prose. So many authors rush through their stories without really developing them. Not you. Your book read like a movie in my mind. You have crafted a quality piece of writing.”
Meet the characters in the seriesI've been publishing Alternative Medicine related books. I love healing as passionately as I love to read. Growing up with a father who was a closet reader, some macho image that allowed him to only read in secret. After I caught him reading my book, The Lady of the Camellias, he shared his love of books with me and introduced me to many great books. Before I started writing this series, I had played with the idea of writing a fantasy story peppered with historical facts. The history of the Huns always fascinated me—they were my ancestors—although I decided that it was a stupid idea after I started reading about how to write a fiction book. I had no idea how to create a good story line or form characters and make up a plot, and I wasn’t a literary genius. But, the idea didn’t leave me alone, and I kept adding events and dialogues in my head to Ilona’s story. Not knowing how to do something properly had never prevented me from accepting a good challenge before, so I sat down at the computer and began writing. I've never been good at following rules or formulas; therefore, I discarded the instructions and made up my own rules. I began writing Ilona's story as a diary, for my own enjoyment, jotting down the ideas that swirled in my head was far better than being haunted by them. For months I kept writing and soon realized that I never had so much fun doing anything in my life before. Somehow the characters came to life on their own, and they developed under my furiously typing fingers. Pretty soon I realized that I written about four hundred pages. I gave the manuscript to my friends to read, and they urged me to publish it. I was elated when I received the publisher’s review about my story that said, “I want to give you my overall impression of your work: You have a terrific writing style. You have obviously done a significant amount planning and preparation in crafting your work. Your prose is nicely written with details that capture the reader. Right from the start your plot was very engaging. You do a nice job of slowly making your way through the story with details and a certain voice that allows your reader to really interact with the characters (who are all round and very nicely developed). The greatest value in fiction, it seems to me, lies in what we can learn about our own lives when we take time to analyze someone else’s — even if that someone else is just a character in a story. Characterization is one of the most important elements of any successful story. I always love it when I leave a story feeling like I know the characters. This is true for your prose. So many authors rush through their stories without really developing them. Not you. Your book read like a movie in my mind. You have crafted a quality piece of writing.”
Ilona
Exotic, mysterious, honorable and lonely ILONA.Born into and ancient tribe - still exist hidden among us - with strict and fiercely enforced rules. Ilona tries to keep the traditions alive working in a hospital as a doctor. She comes to age when her clan's secrets are beginning to reveal to her bestowing special powers upon her while mistakes are made and her life is in danger. She has to learn to defend herself and save the future of the Huns. No pressure, huh?
Ema 
Elza
Elza
is the mother hen of the small family, a passionate cook and loves to
feed everyone. Don't let her average exterior fool you though, she is a
Seer, she knows more than she reveales and hides great passion in her
heart.
Rua
Rua
is not just your average groundskeeper, he can influence dreams. He
gives in to Elza and sends out a dream that creates a whole mess. Too
late to take it back, they all have to pay the price.
Bela
Bela
is a lawyer, bestseller author and Ilona's bestest friend since
childhood. He likes designer clothes and carries a Chiuhauha in his
arms. He loves Ilona, but loves her as a friend or lover? He can't
decide until it's too late, or is it?
Zoltan
Exotic
and handsome stranger who explodes into Ilona's life. He is a badboy
and a player, but could he change? He wants to change, but can he? Is it
his destiny that dictates his action or something else?
Csenge
Leader
for over 1600 years. How did she manage to keep her beauty and
memories? Does she wnat to continue leading her people or is she ready
for the change?
Ond
He
is bad, he is very bad. But is he bad to the core, or is he hiding
something? His mission is to kill Ilona and influence the Leaders. Will
he succeed?
Elana
Elana
is a Healer in the 400s. A wise woman who can give advice and help to
Ilona who lives in the 2000s. How is that possible? With a little Hun
magic of course.
Tui
This bossy little menace is Bela's Chiuhauha. She gets Gypsy into trouble all the time.
Gypsy
Ilona's
faithful St Bernard, best friend of Bela's tiny Chiuhauha. He is a
gentle giant, he even tolerates Ilona's pesky cat Mirci Catchmousky,
Ilona's cat up to a certain point, where he send Mirci flying into the
garbage can - well deserved I might add.
About the ancient Hun writing called Rovasiras the author used in the books:
Ilona's name in Rovasiras.
Morning Prayer
CHECK OUT THE TRAILERS
OMG! This was such an unexpected and wonderful introduction. Thank you so much Jenny for all your help in making the story more enjoyable, and for your awesome review. Ilona's story is a bit different from the usual fantasy novels. The story line is more complex, and because I blend real life events with the mysterious world of fantasy, it was not easy to keep everything consistent and believable. Thank you again, your great review is really appreciated and valued.
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome and thank you for letting me be a part of this wonderful experience!!
ReplyDelete