Diving into the historical events that were brewing 500 years ago I found out that so much going on in anti-woman sentiments was beyond witch-hunts. As I was developing Rebel Rose, it occurred to me that the witch as a subject has become its own genre. And it just seems like there's a lot of information out there already, and a lot of fantasy in terms of, you know, magical spells.

But the lesser-known tragedies around the witch phenomenon are what I wanted to show: One of the outcomes/side effects of the witch phenomenon was how it silenced women's voices and set into motion a new reality for women. This book focuses on the time in our history when anti-women sentiment took a larger leap. This a period that aggressively polices women’s bodies, erases their leadership and marginalizes their contributions. And not just in terms of the midwife who caught babies. Its effects are long lasting - even today.

There is also evidence of a visionary experience practiced by women and men – some even call it shamanic- of a quickly fading practice around understanding the concept of the fairy who were the helpers in all matters of illness and health. This directly competed with the church’s teachings. And just like we can explore a multitude of other afro-centric religions that combine ancient elements with catholic practices, Celtic magic used among healers and cunning folks was practiced by the impoverished for millennia or more and as the church involved catholic prayers with befriending the fairies. This evidence compelled me forward to understand more. And then I began to weave it into story.