Secrets of my craft
Below I answer questions people often ask me in regard to Rose Rapson:
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Rose Rapson is not me. We share some things in common, but I regard Rose much more as my
imaginary third child than my younger self.
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Some of the characters are based on real, flesh-and- blood people, but others are completely
fictitious. Still others originate from mythology, whose features I have crafted drawing on the
information available to me.
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It was my childhood dream to write a novel. The idea of actually doing it came to me while I was
having my last ever conversation with my grandfather, just before he died in 2013. The mood of
this conversation (though not the exact subject matter) is immortalised in chapter 10 of the
book, which was the first part of the novel I wrote.
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On the same day, randomly surfing the internet, I came across the legend of Lady Rapson, Queen
of the Transylvanian Fairies. I took this as a celestial sign, especially as my grandfather’s family
roots are in Transylvania, so there was no question that this would be the core around which I
would construct my myth.
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The main plot of the story popped into my mind while I was jogging in the Buda hills, shortly
after my grandfather passed away. After that, I didn’t have to worry about what to write, only
when I would write it, as I had very little free time. The details, of course, came later, while I was
writing – and running.
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So who is Lady Rapson? She was the Queen of the Transylvanian Fairies, a true matriarchal ruler,
who reached far beyond her original position as a spouse after the mysterious disappearance of
his husband, who ruled before her. Lady Rapson’s castle is no fiction, it actually exists. Its ruins
can still be visited by walking along a tourist trail which starts about 5 miles from Parajd on the
road towards Gyergyószentmiklós (today’s Praid and Gheorgheni, Romania).
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During the writing process I had no conscious awareness of any particular literary genre. I am a
lawyer who loves literature, but I’ve never studied the art of writing. I was given a beautiful
story, and I felt, from the very first moment, that it had been entrusted to me, and that I should
do something good with it and share it with others. The blending of mythology, esotericism and
psychology evolved naturally in my narrative, it was not intentional on my part.
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There is formidable literary talent, past and present, in my extended family, but this is my own
first venture into writing, and, truth be told, since graduating law school, almost the only things
I’ve read have been books on law and baby care!
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As a young mother on maternity leave, I had a wonderful chance to write, actually my very first.
When my children were born, maternity leave provided “justification” for a “professional
sabbatical”. I now had a chance to do something with my brain other than law. Stealing an hour
or two here and there to spend with Rose, I still had abundant quality family time. I look upon
the last four years of my life – not working in my profession – as the “mystery of birthing and
creation”. I gave birth to my son and daughter, as well as to my novel. I am so blessed, not to
mention grateful for this opportunity.
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Do I believe in everything I wrote about, all the things in the book that can’t be grasped
physically or comprehended as rational facts? Not long ago, even while writing my novel, I didn’t
believe any of it one bit. I didn’t understand why I was the one to be given this inspiration, this
challenge, and I worried that I wouldn’t be able to carry it through authentically or consistently.
Why? Because when I started to write, I was, if anything, an even more rational person than
Rose. Then, a few things happened to me while I was writing the book, and even more so after
I’d finished, which made me accept, more than I’d ever done, that so many more things exist in
life than those in the material realm. In brief. And although I shaped the book, the book also
shaped me.
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Chapter 13 is my favourite, though it’s linguistically a little “odd” compared with the rest of the
book, because it uses the local Siculian (Szekler/Székely) dialect of that part of Transylvania
where it takes place. My favourite characters are obviously Rose and her ancestor, Lady Rapson.
They are the personifications of the purple-and- red strong-minded and proud women, who don’t
care at all about social conventions. My favourite supporting character is the Siculian giant,
Bruno, although the truth is that I love all my characters; this explains why I already have a new
writing diary filled with the whole cast and their upcoming adventures. That said, the sequel will
only come to fruition provided my readers also want to keep Rose Rapson company on her next
adventures.
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What is the book’s most important moral message? There is love and acceptance, fellowship and
teamwork, bravery and pride, perseverance and dedication, emotional peace and inner
harmony. The empowerment of a fearless attitude towards life, the importance of loving
yourself, but most importantly, discovering and living your own destiny. And, obviously, the path
to another world, whence we come and towards we are headed. Everyone reading this book will
discover, among the matrix of messages it embraces, one that is their very own. My own is,
“Let’s wake up and embrace our inner goodness, our own fairy roots, and make the world a
better place. If you don’t believe in miracles, then you are not a realist.” It is in this spirit that I
am building my charity campaign around this book.
”WAKE UP, MY FAIRIES!”
(For more information, please click on ”CHARITY”!)