Romana Ana
Stories • Art • Photography
Between two worlds
For a long time, I lived between two worlds.
One was the ordinary world, where we go to work, drink our morning coffee, and deal with everyday concerns. I spend most of my days there too, working in an office.
And then there was the other one. A world of stories, symbols, dreams, and places that exist on no map.
The more I began to write about it, the less distant it seemed. As if it were slowly finding its way into reality.
Perhaps that is why I have been fascinated by doors, gateways, and passages since childhood. They feel like quiet invitations to step into the unknown.
And that is probably why the theme of crossing between worlds has found its way into almost everything I create.
Where stories come from
I am a storyteller, but my stories do not begin only at a writing desk.
Many of my ideas emerge from meditation, dreams, and images that appear somewhere between the subconscious and imagination. I do not see them as an escape from reality. Quite the opposite. They are a way of looking at it from a different angle.
Sometimes they bring a question. Sometimes a symbol or a story. Often, they begin as nothing more than a vague feeling searching for its meaning.
It was from this place that Symbolion and the City Without Stars came into being. A story about a forbidden game, parallel worlds, and red doors that connect two realities.
A similar path also leads into my upcoming fantasy novel, The Magical Gift and the Treekeepers’ Secret. Because some doors do not open with a key. All it takes is a piece of chalk-drawn door on the wall.
When words are not enough
When I write, I see images.
When I draw or take photographs, I look for stories.
Perhaps that is why I enjoy connecting things that seem unrelated at first glance. Every now and then, everything falls into place for a brief moment.
That is why my creative work has never been limited to writing alone. Alongside stories, I am drawn to drawing, painting, photography, and video.
In all of them, I am searching for the same thing.
Atmosphere.
That special moment when light, a symbol, or a single detail can evoke a feeling that words struggle to explain.
When atmosphere is captured, everything comes alive. A story, a painting, a photograph.
And perhaps that is what I am trying to achieve in everything I create.
Behind the red door
When I am not writing, you will often find me wandering through Prague in the evening, taking photographs. I look for interesting light and quiet corners that most people pass without noticing.
I am an early bird. I write best early in the morning, while the world hasn’t fully woken up yet. Painting, on the other hand, I prefer in the evening – with a white coffee, ginger biscuits, and a head full of new worlds.
I love people who have kept their imagination, sense of perspective, and sense of humour. Perhaps because they remind me that life doesn’t always have to be taken so seriously. And I am grateful to have someone like that right by my side.
With people like that, I can allow myself to be fragile, a little dishevelled, and sometimes a bit confused.
Whether you came here for the books, the artwork, or simply out of curiosity, I am glad you stopped by.
