Patricia Furstenberg, Writer of Historical Fiction, Children's Books
Travel via Stories
In fifteenth-century Transylvania, marriage was not a private affair. It was a public instrument. A legal mechanism. A way of (finally) being seen.
Continue reading “A Proven Historical Pressure Cooker: Marriage as Surveillance”
Between 1 and 25 December enjoy on my blog, all free on this page, my Christmas gift: an Advent Calendar of riddles leading you to Romanian winter legends, first snow songs, and recipes to a seasonal dish to feast on! May your Christmas be Merry and your winter full of peace!
Continue reading “Your Christmas Gift, an Unique Advent Calendar of Romanian Winter Legends, Snow Songs & Feast”
On All Saints’ Night, when the veil between the living and the dead grows thin, I return through story to my Transylvanian roots. The Night of Returning Souls, written for Romania Insider is my take on the folklore and ghostly legends that haunt October.
Continue reading “The Night of Returning Souls, It’s All Saints’ Night”
When it comes to superstitions, especially Transylvanian superstitions, even the most rational among us have whispered “touch wood” or avoided walking under a ladder. I know I have. Such old magic and weird beliefs have long offered humans a sense of control over a world that often feels cruelly unpredictable.
Superstitions are more than quirky cultural relics; they are the soul’s attempt to impose meaning on chaos. This is evident in Romania, particularly Transylvania, where the supernatural and the sacred have long shared the same threshold. While the Western world flinches at black cats and the number 13, in Transylvania we count our MANY fears differently.
Continue reading “Sound Transylvanian Superstitions and Why We Still Believe in Old Magic”
I love books featuring real-life locations. That’s why I write them. To read about a city steeped in history, to hear the pounding of a character’s steps and know that I can walk the same path! Finally, there’s less than a week to the release of Dan Brown’s new Robert Langdon mystery thriller, The Secret of Secrets. So I splurged into an imaginary journey of my own. Why don’t you join me?
Book Review: “The Secret of Secrets” by Dan Brown: a labyrinth of mind, mystery, and manuscripts. Read below.
Continue reading “Following Robert Langdon, a Journey Through Dan Brown’s Hidden Secrets”