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For
a fascinating journey through time and across cultures, turn
up your speakers
(or download to your mp3 player)
and listen to a radio interview of the
author discussing
the Cathar people and the mysteries
surrounding
their "spiritual
treasure".
Following is an edited transcript from a newspaper interview.
To read the actual article
Click Here.
Q. How would you describe the books that comprise The
Cathar Legacy?
There are currently two books in the series which can
be read individually or together.
The first book, Past Recall,
is unique in how it presents two intimately related but totally
different stories.
The first is a historical tale of Clotilde
and Jean de Mirepoix. As devout members of the Cathars, a gentle
religion group, their 13th century life involved great love and peace,
and a secret that was to spell their doom.
Threaded within the tale of the past, is the
modern day story of Dana Palmer and Eric Taylor. While on assignment to
create a photographic series on the sudden resurgence of interest in the
Cathars, Dana and Eric discover a destiny beyond time, one whose mandate
place them, and the world, on the brink of salvation or destruction.
Q. It sounds fascinating. Do you intend to
examine more such mysteries - perhaps that of the Templars?
The research for
Past
Recall was like pulling on the threads
of a Persian carpet and it led to all sorts of colorful historical
mysteries, including those of the Templars, Rennes le Chateau, and the
bloodline legends of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and the Holy Grail. In
Past
Recall, these subjects were
enigmatically dangled as part of the greater mysteries that are delved
into and developed much more deeply in
The
Cathar Legacy.
Q: What did you most enjoy about writing the Cathar books?
One of the most compelling
aspects of the story was the great secret of the Cathar
treasure , one that the Inquisition deemed more valuable
than gold - or perhaps oil in our time. The unthinkable fact
that whatever its mystery, it was so powerful as to warrant
the targeting and destruction of all heretics in a reign of
terrorism that lasted hundreds of years. On the lighter
side, I delighted in discovering what has been described as
a period so advanced that, had it been allowed to flourish,
could have hastened the Renaissance by several hundred
years. It was a time of great inclusivity in the south of
France - a time of troubadours, of women owning property and
having full rights, of Jews, Gypsies, Cathars and Counts all
coexisting in harmony. And last, but certainly harder to
explain, was my discovery that there is today such a sudden
rash of books and interest in the Cathars, adding to the
puzzle of when and why and how the past can tweak the
present.
Q: If readers would like to read up on the history of
the Cathars, are there any books you would recommend?
Unfortunately, much of what is
available is hypothetical since the Cathars left no writings
or artifacts to be exhumed. The records of the Inquisition,
as recounted in the best selling book "Montaillou" by LeRoy
LaDune, provide a factual account of a Cathar village during
that terrible time. Another book, "Cathars" by Yves
Rouquette, not only provides Cathar fact, but weaves it with
the pure enchantment of poetry.
Q: Are there any authors that you would name as
influences?
Jack Finney for his deft blending
of two time periods, Katherine Neville for the erudi9tion
with which she weaves her tales of a mystical quest, and
that master storyteller, Ken Follett.
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“Past Recall is a compelling romantic mystery. Its magnetic narrative
treats us to spiritual wisdom and historical fact. Nita Hughes’
mystical passion informs, entertains and inspires readers, while
providing us with an antidote for a problematic future.”
Karen
Horowitz, co-author of
Witness to Illness
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Additional radio interviews with the
author,
as well as book excerpts and reviews,
are available in the
Press Room.
Contact:
email @ NitaHughes.com
Website by:
Pyradice Publishing
Copyright
© Hughes Associates
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