"Elizabeth Gilligan - Silken Magic 01 - Magic's Silken Snare" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gilligan Elizabeth)

too, moved, seemingly aimlessly, around the world, never exactly fitting in but
determined to be who and what they were. There was an honor in that that resonated
deeply with me.
There is a wealth of rumor and imaginings about the Rromani, starting with the
name outsiders called them: тАЬGypsies.тАЭ (I use the double тАЬrтАЭ here because it is a
modern use to keep themselves from being mistaken as Romanian, but in the book I
use only the single тАЬrтАЭ as is proper at the time the story takes place.) I was once told
by a respected Rom on an Internet list that no тАЬTat-cho Rom (no real Rom) would
have anything to do with fantasy, elves and dragonsтАЭ . . . because they were stuff
and nonsense just as is much of what is rumored to be so about their people. I
wanted to write something that would make him change his mind.
Another of my fascinations is herbalism, which I backed into through the door of
studying poison and poisoning techniques. As you might have guessed, I was
mightily fascinated by the Borgias and the various court poisoners over the earlier
centuries. With my studies in herbalism came early medicine, midwifery, folkways,
and magic.
This book began as a challenge to roll a number of interests into one project and
has become a passion.
Tyrrhia is purely mythical and, as the map shows, is actually a geographically and,
thus politically, much larger and stronger Sicily. I took my timeline for this
seventeenth century novel back to approximately 400 ad with the death of the great
Visigoth King, Alaric. Legend says that his bereaved crew stopped in Sicily, after
sacking Rome once again, diverted the course of a river, and buried the King with
his plunder. My fictional kingdom is funded by the discovery of that plunder some
generations later.
As in reality, Tyrrhia (Sicily) was the melting pot of the Old World. The diasporas
and witch-hunts sent Jews, Romani, Huguenots, and other folk to her shores in
search of tolerance. As Tyrrhia now had the resources and geographical bounty to
allow settlement, the religion and philosophy also changed and found favor.
In researching this book, I have found a way to tie in my tangible pleasures of
painting silk by building upon the silk trade which actually existed in Sicily. As a
student philosopher, I have enjoyed developing a viable political and theological
system nestled in the bosom of the Roman Catholic ChurchтАФwhich, with all of its
great gifts and faults, has figured significantly in the development of mankind.
To capture the ambience of Tyrrhia, the book is written in three languages:
English (for the vast part), Romani, and Italian. I have relied heavily upon my
personal library on the Romani and their language. I have learned much more than I
can ever thank the Romani and non-Rom participants for at The Patrin Web Journal
(http://www.geocities.com/Paris/5121/glossary.htm).
My husband of twenty years, Douglas, has lived in this world and agonized over it
with me, supporting me at every step, as I developed Tyrrhia and this book. Without
him, I donтАЩt know that I could ever have finished. My daughter, Brianna, learned to
be a first reader and has become my office assistant so that I can focus more time
on my writing. My son, Patrick, has provided the distractions which kept me from
ever getting тАЬtoo seriousтАЭ or too lost in what I am doing.
Irene Radford has been a dear friend and valued critical reader who has gladly
shared resources and endless quantities of patience. Raymond тАЬBuzzтАЭ Nelson has
been inordinately helpful in all matters of military historyтАФfrom insignia, classic
battles, and strategy to the various wild and woolly wars being fought during the
period of my novel. Frank Lurz, Maestro di Scherma, Assistant Director of the