Hi everyone, it’s Robbie Cheadle with you today and I’m sharing a mini-interview with talented author, Patricia Furstenberg, as well as my review of book 1 in her Blood of Kings, Heart of Shadows series, When Secrets Bloom. I’m also sharing Patricia’s recipe for sarmale, or stuffed cabbage rolls.
Mini-interview
Tell us about Patricia Furstenberg and your writing journey
Thank you for inviting me over, Roberta.
As a Romanian living in South Africa with a young family, in the beginning, before I understood where my writing would lead me, I worked within smaller forms. Children’s stories came first: shaped with care, each word justifying its place (“The Cheetah and the Dog”). Then came poetry, where language became both tool and trial; I learned restraint, rhythm, and the force a single line can carry (“As Good as Gold”).
Yet no craft remains unchanged by time, nor can a writer rest indefinitely on the threshold of deeper inquiry. And with the passing of years my work stretched toward wider ground. Adult fiction followed, rooted in the same common ground as my children’s stories: my love for animals, especially dogs. Not such a sudden departure, but as a necessary continuation. Questions of identity, of belonging, of voices long subdued began to surface. They demanded space (“Silent Heroes”).
My turn toward historical fiction was not abrupt. It gathered slowly – an inevitability rather than a choice. For what is history, if not a tapestry woven as much from imagination as from record? And what role does a writer serve, if not to listen where others have not?
Thus, research became both guide and obligation, passion and a way of life. My long-life passions for travel and history finally met. We owe the past fidelity towards what is known and recorded. Yet, between the cracks it does invite interpretation—asking to be understood. But not only as fact. As lived experience also, of those who endured them – human beings like us. Here I found my path. Not one to recount events, but to restore the presence, the passions, the pain of those who endured them.
And so, gradually rather than all at once, hesitation loosened its hold and gave way to a firmer resolve. For once a calling has been recognised for what it is—persistent, insistent, unwilling to be set aside—it does not fade quietly. Left unanswered, it lingers, shaping thought and purpose alike, until the cost of silence grows heavier than the risk of answering it.
And, in time, hesitation gave way to resolve. For once a passion is understood (persistent, insistent, unwilling to be set aside) it does not keep quiet. Left unanswered it nags, shaping thought and purpose until the cost of silence grows heavier than the risk of answering it. But when answered, it grows wings carrying both writer and story toward places once only imagined, and, at last, fully lived. For now I write character-driven historical fiction set in medieval Transylvania. I love to explore women with dangerous skills who secretly wield power.
As answered by Kate Webber, the main character of “When Secrets Bloom”.
Inspiration behind “When Secrets Bloom”? You speak of it as though it were a gentle thing.
It was not.
It was a whisper none could silence. A buzz. The kind of truth that would not remain buried. You must understand: there are stories that cling to you like thistle to wool. Not because you seek them, but because they won’t be forgotten. I did not set out to uncover secrets so she’ll write about me. I followed the thread of one and found my hands stained with many.
When she, the writer, researched my time, 15th century Transylvania, she discovered how women like myself have long walked the line between admiration and suspicion. As any woman must if she knows more than she ought. I was a healer, yes, but knowledge, in such times, was no simple blessing. It drew eyes. It invited judgment. In a city ruled by fear, skill alone does not protect: it marked you.
If there is a single question that gave rise to this story, “When Secrets Bloom”, it is not a kind one.
If history forgets, who remembers?
Men wrote history in ink. Women carried it in silence. And sometimes, when the weight grew too great, those whispers took root. So, if there was a beginning, it lay there: in what was not said. In what was hidden, dismissed, or feared. In the cost of knowing too much. History has been unkind to the women who stepped out of bounds.
That is where it began. And once begun, it could not be undone.
And I’m grateful to her, the writer, for bringing it all into the light. For all to finally know the truth.
What’s next for Patricia Furstenberg?
No story stands alone, nor can a single volume contain the breadth of a world once opened, especially if that world is 15th century Transylvania. With When Secrets Bloom as its beginning, the Blood of Kings, Heart of Shadows series reveals its larger design. Beyond storytelling, beyond location, each book deepens the consequences; it answers questions, settles disputes, but it also brings hidden truths into the light. While at its heart stands Kate, who gives up everything not only for her freedom, to safeguard what was entrusted to her by a man larger than life.
The second installment, Beneath the Snow, does not merely continue the story—it sharpens it. For when secrets knock, danger does not wait to be invited. It crashes in. And Kate must decide whether the man she once trusted with her safety can be trusted with the greatest secret she carries—one that is not even hers to keep.
By the third book the question shifts again: what awaits within the castle and who really survives the crossing of its gates? For not all who enter emerge unchanged—least of all a prince, whose life, like so many lives were shaped by power and survival, is written by victors and shadowed by what remains unknown.
And by the fourth, the reckoning stands clear. What must be claimed, what must be defied, and what kind of destiny can be rewritten—if one dares to face the cost?
The question that followed me throughout this entire book series was: who really was Vlad Dracula: the man, the young prince, the child who was born to war, at war?
While throughout, place is no mere backdrop but a shaping force. Kronstadt, as it stood in the fifteenth century, was carefully restored through research for When Secrets Bloom. Suceava Fortress rises into prominence in the third book. And by the fourth, another real Transylvanian castle becomes the ground upon which fate itself is tested. For just as history leaves its mark upon land, so too does the land leave its mark upon those who dare to walk it.
In the end, whether in history or in story, it is not the loudest voices that endure—but those that refuse to be silenced.
Sarmale, or stuffed cabbage rolls
Few dishes have travelled as widely as sarmale, or stuffed cabbage rolls and at a gathering in When Secrets Bloom, they appear not merely as food, but as savoury witnesses to an exciting past. In my native Romania they are a beloved national specialty and I often cook them in South Africa – they are always highly appreciated. Yet their roots stretch back centuries (and, researching old recipes from Transylvania, I jumped at the opportunity. The sarmale also shaped by many cultures. Once spread through Ottoman expansion, the recipe travelled across regions, adapted by countless kitchens, becoming both a festive staple and a testament to a rich, shared culinary history.
Usually made with mince, during the Christmas Orthodox fasting the sarmale are prepared with vegetable.
Cabbage rolls prepared during the fasting period before Christmas do not mean giving up flavor, but approaching it differently. Cooks often used porcini and honey mushrooms, a combination that gives the dish an intense woodland aroma. Alongside these, cracked wheat and rice are well sautéed in oil with vegetables—a method that transforms the texture and deepens the flavors.
The filling relies on simple ingredients, its secret lying in the method: finely chopped red pepper adds a gentle sweetness, while porcini bring deep aroma and honey mushrooms provide body.
Ingredients for approximately 20 cabbage rolls
Onion: 50 g
Carrot: 40 g
Red bell pepper: 30 g
Cracked wheat: 140 g
Rice: 90 g
Oil: 50 ml for sautéing (plus 40 ml for cooking)
Porcini mushrooms: 50 g
Honey mushrooms: 150 g
Pickled cabbage leaves: 500 g
Chopped pickled cabbage: 225 g
Tomato paste: 35 g
Dill, thyme, and seasoning to taste
Method
Finely chop the vegetables and mushrooms, and grate the carrot. Sauté everything. After a few minutes, add the rice and cracked wheat, letting them lightly brown and absorb the flavors. Once the mixture binds, fill the cabbage leaves by holding a leaf in the palm of your hand, adding a spoon of mixture and carefully rolling the cabbage leaf around, tucking in the ends. Don’t worry, the rice will cook during the next stage.
Lightly oil the pot, line it with a thin layer of chopped cabbage and dill, then arrange the rolls in even layers. Spread tomato paste over the top and add enough water to cover. Simmer on low heat until the leaves are tender and the flavors mixed.
Key detail: use thin, delicate cabbage leaves. Remove the thick ribs for easier rolling, and cut large leaves in half to obtain uniform-sized sarmale.
Sarmale are usually enjoyed with chilli peppers on the side and a portion of polenta (made from yellow cornmeal). If not fasting, then topping them with a spoonful of plain Greek yoghurt will make them even more delicious.
Enjoy!
My review of When Secrets Bloom
This is the first book in a series so while the story ends at a good and satisfactory point, there is more to come.
Kate, a woman from a well-off family living in Kronstadt, Transylvania, is a healer. She learned the art of healing while a ‘prisoner’ of Vlad the Impaler and she has a great talent for it. However, her time spent in the company of Vlad who clearly favoured her, made her unmarriageable by men from her own class on her return to Kronstadt. Needing to marry to maintain her home and lifestyle, she marries Magyar, a man from a sector of the Transylvanian population that has been sidelined by the Saxons. He is ambitious and married Kate with the intention of using her wealth and station to move up the social and political ladder. Kate’s healing skills have alienated the local doctor and other officials who resent her popularity and success in the medical area. These circumstances culminate in manipulated misfortune for Kate who is arrested for being a witch.
Kate’s childhood sweetheart, Iancu, is a Militia man who has recently returned to Kronstadt where he comes across Kate practicing her healing. She is arrested before the pair have much interaction but it is obvious there are still feelings between them.
Moise is a young Jewish scholar in a city and country where Jews know to keep a low profile in order to stay safe from prejudice and persecution. He works at a printing press for high end books and other literary publications under the guidance of an older Jewish matron. He knows about the matron’s prize possession, a beautifully illustrated and valuable book that she keeps in a safe on her business’s premises. Moise has worked with the matron from a very young age and has knowledge of various relationships and secrets as a result.
The setting in Kronstadt, Transylvania is fascinating and well researched and the story is interesting. Some parts were a little slow and initially the numerous characters were a bit difficult for me to follow, but given this is the first instalment in a series, the story did move along and I got to know the characters and gain some understanding of their relevance to the story.
This is an entertaining read for people interested in the history of Transylvania and Vlad the Impaler.
Purchase When Secrets Bloom from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0FF53773C
About Patricia Furstenberg
Amazon Bestseller and Award Winning writer Patricia Furstenberg is the author of JOYFUL TROUBLE, SILENT HEROES: When Love and Values Are Worth Fighting for (chosen One in Five Books Everyone Should Read in Their Lifetime), and new releases DREAMLAND and TRANSYLVANIA’S HISTORY A to Z. With a medical degree behind her, Patricia writes about unconditional love and war, while her keen interest for history and dogs brought her writing, through a perfect loop, to her native Romania, Patricia being the creator of #Im4Ro hashtag, sharing positive stories.
Her latest books, «Dreamland» and «Transylvania’s History A to Z» are «a wonderful combination of stories, photos, history, and legends», «a novel idea and a captivating read».
Her contemporary military novel «Silent Heroes: When Love and Values Are Worth Fighting for» is a highly emotional read, action-packed, a vivid story of enormous sacrifice and bravery. «Silent Heroes» is a narrative about the value of life. A new look at the War in Afghanistan, at the MWD, Military Working Dogs and the brave Marines fighting it, but also at the Afghans caught in it.
Her historical fiction book «Joyful Trouble» is an Amazon Bestseller – read about real dogs caught in WW2.
Through her children’s books Patricia is well known for her uplifting, charming themes and lovable, enchanting characters: dogs, cats, elephants, cheetahs, lions, but also squirrels and snails. Using her inner child she crafts stories and poems that are great fun, as well as teaching empathy. Her stories are filled with “creativity and vivid imagery” and she knows how to “capture the reader’s imagination.”
Her words “truly make the world a happier and more beautiful place!”
Her prolific writing is described as: positive, diverse, crisp, joyful and uplifting.
Patricia Furstenberg came to writing though reading, her passion for books being something she inherited from her parents. As a winner of the Write Your Own Christie Competition, the Judges «were impressed by her thorough investigation and admired the strength of her narrative; they were impressed by her style”. The judges thought Patricia’s writing style is «well structured, with a great sense of tension and suspense”, “confident and intriguing”. The Judges were Mathew Prichard, David Brawn from Harper Collins UK and Daniel Mallory from Harper Collins US.
Patricia Furstenberg received Author of the Year at the Spillwords Press Awards MMXXIII.
When she doesn’t writes Patricia enjoys reading, researching for forthcoming books and traveling with her family. She never counts how many cups of coffee she enjoys in a day.
Patricia lives happily with her husband, children and dogs in sunny South Africa.
Patricia Furstenberg Author Page and Blog: http://alluringcreations.co.za/wp/
Connect on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PatFurstenberg
Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PatriciaFurstenbergAuthor
Connect on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/patriciafurstenberg
About Robbie Cheadle
South African author, photographer, and artist, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated seventeen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, written and illustrated four poetry books and written and illustrated one celebration of cake and fondant art book with recipes. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.
Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/
Social Media Links
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Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Robbie-Cheadle/author/B01N9J62GQ
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