Real Places in Historical Fiction: Brașov in When Secrets Bloom

Biserica Neagra Brasov si Piata Honterus in fictiune istorica

There are cities in Transylvania that do not simply sit on the map, they remember. They carry the sediment of centuries like bark around an old trunk. Brașov, know as Corona or Kronstadt in medieval times, is one of those places. In When Secrets Bloom Brașov does appear only as a backdrop. It breathes. It resists. It watches.

Because to write about a place is to write against forgetting.

Readers will discover Brașov as a setting in my story Kate’s Letter featured in our historical fiction anthology Courage: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope.

25/01/202625/01/2026

If History Forgets, Who Remembers? Hidden Truths in When Secrets Bloom

We are creatures of imagination and we understand the world by telling stories about it. Before chronicles hardened into dates and rulers. Before ink fixed memory into law. Stories softened fear, explained loss, they gave shape to grief. In Transylvania, where mountains fold memory into stone and winter teaches patience, stories do not merely entertain. They endure.

25/11/202525/11/2025

The Gold Beneath the Beeches, a Dacian Treasure of King Koson

High in the Orăștie Mountains, where the beech forests stand in quiet ranks and the old Dacian fortresses watch over the ridges, a forester once stumbled upon a glimmer of ancient sovereignty. He had been walking a lonely path between two villages when he noticed something strange at the roots of two immense beeches—trees so old their crowns interlaced like clasped hands. When he brushed aside the soil, gold winked back at him. Gold no map ever mentioned.

15/07/202515/07/2025

Behind When Secrets Bloom: Three Locations in Historical Brașov

18th cent Brasov: the three joined houses with medieval origins

Let’s step into historical Brașov, Transylvania, the city that inspired When Secrets Bloom, my latest historical fiction novel. We’ll take a peek at: a mysterious old shop, the three old maids (houses) from Council Square, and the haunting Black Gate.

23/06/202525/06/2025

Cover Reveal: When Secrets Bloom, Historical Fiction

cover reveal When Secrets Bloom Patricia Furstenberg historical fiction Transylvania

Between oath and silence, two outcasts carry a kingdom’s oldest secret.
I’m thrilled to share that my newest historical fiction novel, Where Secrets Bloom, is now available for pre-order from Amazon worldwide for 0.99c / 0.99p!

Journey to 15th-century Transylvania, where Kate – a Saxon healer – faces accusations of witchcraft, and Moise – a young printing apprentice – finds himself entangled in a perilous weaving of secrets and shifting loyalties.

The e-book is ready for pre-order today from Amazon. Publication day: Friday 27 June!
I’ll keep you updated the moment the paperback and audiobook editions are released too.

Pre-order Amazon universal link