Waterfall (44 page)

Q. You got to go for research?

A. Yes! Three times for The Gifted, and once, last fall, for this series. There’s just something about the place that is totally romantic, warm, and welcoming. It sucks you in. Don’t go. Because then you’ll be like me and miss it when you’re away too long.

Q. What’s next for Gabi and Lia?

A. Mmm, I just wrapped Cascade (book 2), and I think it’s a really solid second book. The adventure and love story continue, of course. But it’s even more dramatic and suspenseful than this one!

Wanna chat with others who’ve read the book? Ask Lisa a question (or ten)? Interested in winning River of Time-oriented prizes? Follow Lisa as she continues to write about these characters, and check out what’s happening with the series by “liking” the River of Time Series on Facebook. Then you’ll be the first to know!

The quote Gabi remembers, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the decision that something is more important than that fear,” was something I heard in The Princess Diaries. The quote was originally written by Ambrose Redmoon (aka James Neil Hollingworth.) I thought it was especially appropriate for Gabi to think about, given all she had to deal with. The other quotes she thinks of, mostly attributed to her mom or dad, are quotes that often come to my mind; I’m uncertain where I first picked them up.

While I worked hard to stay historically accurate, a lot of this series is a figment of my imagination. We visited a medieval castle not far from where I placed Castello Forelli-in that region of Tuscany, they seem to be on every other hill. However, all of my characters, including the Paratores and Forellis, are fictional.

Special thanks to Christine Cantera, writer and blogger at WhyGo France and longtime expat, who helped me with all my Italian and French translations.

MANY THANKS go out to my readers in my focus group, the River of Time Tribe girls, who helped me make this book better (and called me out when I was making my teen characters sound too adult): Olivia B., Cynthia Y., Madison B., Megan D., Mandy H., Megan B., Hannah C., Courtney F., Callie G., Kayla G., Beth H., Cierra J., Ciara K., Keighley K., Emma M., Sarah P., Bridget R., Caitlynn R., Mary Kate B., Kaitlin B., Ellie B., Morgan F., Kirsten G., Joyce H., Diamond J., Kaeli N., Haylee S., Emily B., Courtney B., Hannah C., Erin C., Bethany D., Stephanie D., Kassidy K., Lindsay, Shelby L., Hannah M., Jordan M., Dongjoo P., Taylor R., Jillian S., Alysa T., and Rebecca T. Thanks, friends!

While I love the research process and seek to honor the facts in my fiction, medieval historians tend to occasionally disagree on the “facts,” forcing authors using their materials to make their best guess as to who might be correct. Add in the fact that there are few resources related to pre-Renaissance, medieval Italian history (translated in English), and I was forced to speculate now and again. Some facts are borrowed from known English history, which is better documented (and more easily read/absorbed by this English speaker). All that said, I did my best to bring you a novel that you could trust as being true to the times and yet not get in the way of the story.

In regard to the Etruscans, my description of the tombs is a fictional combination of a number of different sites and configurations found throughout Italy. Although the artifacts and frescoes inside “my” tombs are like those that archaeologists have excavated-with the exception of the two handprints-no known tumuli like I’ve described have been found in this portion of Tuscany.

Sidesaddles have been documented in artwork from Grecian and Celtic times but didn’t really become popular until Anne of Bohemia (1366-1394) made them her preferred mode of transportation. Later, Catherine de’ Medici had her own version, and it developed from there. I added in my own version of the sidesaddle to this series because I couldn’t quite imagine the female nobility of Toscana riding astride in their long skirts and thought it fair to utilize such conjecture.

Siena and Florence battled each other for hundreds of years. Lords had their own hilltop castles, the remains of which you can see throughout Tuscany, and were therefore always seeking to extendor forced to protect-their borders. Politically religious divisions (Guelph and Ghibelline) did not help assuage the upheaval, which did not cease until 1555, when Florence succeeded in conquering Siena once and for all. But my specific battles, of course, are a work of fiction, as are my characters.

I make no claim to be a “historian,” but I love history, and my research often gives me new plot turns or aspects of life that enhance my story. What follows is a bibliography-a list of the resources I found most helpful in researching this series and attempting to get my facts right. If you’re interested in the medieval era, you might check some of them out. (Frances and Joseph Gies are particularly readable/accessible.) If you actually go that far, be sure to email me through the River of Time series Facebook page-I’ll give you a virtual pat on the back, and we can discuss things like trenchers and wiping your face with the tablecloth after dinner.

Lisa T. Bergren