While obviously Eliza Lucas Pinckney did not write about bindings, Fire Carriers, or yunwi, as my Eliza Watson Beaufort does, I have used her letterbook as a pattern piece for the book of letters that helps my characters unravel the mystery at the core of the Watson Island magic. The quirks of capitalization used in my letters are similar to those that were in fashion at the time.
Plantations, Headdresses, and Scalping Trees
Having been raised by an African American ex–drag queen, Barrie believes she is unbiased when she arrives at Watson Island. In fact, she endangers herself by ignoring the warnings of those who know the Colesworth family penchant to break the law simply because she believes people are prejudiced against the family. What she discovers as the series goes on, though, is that bias and prejudice lurk in unexpected places, and that you have to know that bias exists before you can see it. This is not a lesson she can have learned fully in the first book because the entire trilogy takes place in such a relatively short period of time.
Barrie comes to love Watson’s Landing and its landscape before she fully understands what slavery meant and the quiet strength and bravery that it took to survive every day under such a brutal system. Even after she understands, she continues to love the plantation because it is her home and the place where her family was raised. As a result of what she has learned, she comes to discover that there are still thirty million slaves in the world today, most of them, like the early Native American slaves in the Carolina colony, women and children.
Similarly, as she works her way through the mystery, she discovers that many of the “facts” accepted by locals and taught to her in her history books are incomplete. Things like blood magic, sacrifice, scalping, paint, and the forms of headdress and clothing worn by various cultures, not just in the Americas but all around the world, have very specific meanings within those cultures, but our views of them are colored by the biased interpretation of those who wrote about them through a conquering and grasping lens. As with scalping, Western culture often adopted and changed what it didn’t understand for its own ends and in doing so made it more brutal than it had ever been. I hope that as readers reach the end of the series, they will be surprised at the differences in their own as well as Barrie’s perceptions of Watson Island and its inhabitants past and present.
History truly is an illusion. But we each carry within us the magic to cast the future in a better light.
Acknowledgments
Once again, it took more people than I can possibly acknowledge to create Illusion. I cannot begin to express my thanks to:
My husband, who continued to be a rock, a foundation, and the best possible partner in life. Thank you for that and for letting me draft you into helping with the coolest part of the research for this book.
My daughter, who made me cry and made me more determined to keep going through the hardest part of the writing by saying that she is proud of me. She continuously makes me proud of her.
My son, who discussed the books with me as if they were written by a regular (real) author. (Which I still can’t believe I am.)
Sara Sargent and Jennifer Ung, my utterly lovely editors at Simon Pulse, who answered all my thousands of questions, put up with my incessant revisions, saw the flaws that I didn’t see, and helped me make a story out of a collection of semirandom words.
Katherine Devendorf, Bara MacNeill, and Janet Rosenberg for patiently managing the copyediting and proofreading, and making the semirandom words far better and clearer than I could ever make them on my own.
Regina Flath and Hilary Zarycky, for an even better cover and interior book design than any of the already great ones so far.
The entire team at Simon Pulse and Simon & Schuster, who worked so tirelessly to bring this trilogy into the world: Mara Anastas, Mary Marotta, Carolyn Swerdloff, Lucille Rettino, Christina Pecorale, Michelle Leo, Anthony Parisi, Candace Greene, Sara Berko, Jodie Hockensmith, Shifa Kapadwala, Jennifer Romanello, and everyone on the editorial, art, marketing, publicity, sales, and rights teams—I can’t begin to offer enough gratitude for all that you have done for me and for these books.
My agent, Jessica Regel at Foundry Media, for her continued support, kindness, smarts, patience, and faith. I count myself lucky to have her in my corner at least once a week.
Erin Cashman, Susan Sipal, and Danielle Ellison, for critiquing no matter how tired or overworked they were. Without their ideas, tireless support, careful reads, patient advice, and enthusiasm I never would have finished this book.
Liza Wiemer and Andye Eppes, for their beautiful souls, friendship, kindness, cheerleading, and the beta reads and smart ideas—not to mention the courage it took to make me go back for another pass.
Andrew Agha, whose patience in explaining cosmograms and their context in plantation archaeology, as well as his help with spiritual and magic systems, ceremonies, archaeology, anthropology, and historical context, and a thousand other plot points, was above and beyond the call. All mistakes and departures are entirely my own fault.
Mikaela Murphy, for helping me make sure that I represented her culture, and for being the best possible kind of careful reader; Steph Sinclair, for helping me look at Illusion with eyes beyond my own privileged viewpoint in the hope that it might help build bridges instead of widening gulfs of understanding; and Elizabeth Dobak, for the early and careful read.
The publications of the Cherokee Nation, the Cherokee Heritage Documentation Center, the Lowcountry Digital History Initiative, and the work and/or insight of Susan Marie Abram, Jane Archer, Randy Bancroft, Gretchen M. Bataille, Margaret Bender, John Bierhorst, J. F. Bierlein, Ras Michael Brown, Harold Courlander, R. Duncan, Andrew Denson, S. Barron Frazier, Christopher C. Fennell, Allan Gallay, J. T. Garrett, Michael Tlanusta Garrett, Sharon I. Goad, William Moreau Goins, Sequoyah Guess, Woody Hanson, M. Patrick Hendrix, Alan Kilpatrick, Bobby Lake-Thom, George E. Lankford, Daniel Littlefield, Johannes Loubser, Thomas E. Mails, Susan B. Martinez, Wyatt MacGaffey, Ben Harris McClary, Pedro Mendia-Landa, Gabriel Peoples, Brett Riggs, Hastings Shade, Victoria Smalls, Charles Spencer, Diane Stein, Sammy Still, Christopher B. Teuton, Jonathan B. Thayne, Robert Farris Thompson, Norma Tucker, Michael J. Wolyniak, Peter Wood, and of course the work of James Mooney and John Howard Payne. I hope that in weaving together this story from the sum of so many parts, I have been able to at least hint at the richness and unique perspective of what each culture brings to universal themes, dreams, and experiences, and that in doing so, I have managed to convey my utmost respect for the history, traditions, and suffering of those upon whose work this great nation was built. Any mistakes are entirely my own.
All the lovely authors who have, once again, patiently taught me so much this year.
Stacey Canova, for being a fabulous assistant and organizing the Compulsion paperback tour; Jaime Arnold, for the Heirs of Watson Island Pinterest recipe board, sweet potato mustard, and an amazing blog tour; Hannah McBride, for being generous, lovely, and beyond supportive with a tour that knocked my socks off; and Katie Bartow from Mundie Moms, for once again making me happy cry.
All the librarians, booksellers, bloggers, reviewers, festival organizers, teachers, and readers who have helped spread the word about the trilogy. In addition, I want to offer an enormous thank-you to the teachers and professors who are using the books and learning guides in their classrooms.
My lovely and wonderful street team and inner circle. So many hugs!
The Literary Council of Northern Virginia, for doing amazing and deeply needed work for the people for whom reading will be a life-changing experience, for reminding me that this is the land not only of opportunity but also of kindness, and for your wonderful support for me and these books.
The Virginia Children’s Book Festival of 2015, for giving me a weekend to remember why I adore writing a gothic novel, weaving myths and fairy tales, and writing for and about girls and women who are strong in their own ways, even if those aren’t necessarily the ways that society in
general too often still thinks of strength.
Leila Nebeker and the wonderful staff at One More Page Books, and the incredible NoVa Teen Book Festival staff, for being unfailingly lovely and supportive.
All my marvelous AdventuresInYAPublishing.com and 1st5PagesWritingWorkshop.com partners and mentors past and present. I’m honored to be part of such fantastic resources for writers.
Amber Sweeney, for designing beautiful bookmarks, and Max Kutil, for making them up for readers to enjoy.
And once again, Carol and Cici, for being you and kicking ass.
For book club and curriculum-related bonus material, discussion questions, and additional information on the history and folklore of the
Heirs of Watson Island series, please visit the author’s website at www.MartinaBoone.com.
MARTINA BOONE was born in Prague and spoke several languages before learning English. She fell in love with words and never stopped delighting in them. From her home in Virginia, where she lives with her husband, children, and shelter cat, she enjoys writing contemporary fantasy set in the kinds of magical places she’d love to visit. She is also the author of Compulsion and Persuasion.
martinaboone.com
Simon Pulse
Simon & Schuster, New York
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authors.simonandschuster.com/Martina-Boone
Also by Martina Boone
Compulsion
Persuasion
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SIMON PULSE
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First Simon Pulse hardcover edition October 2016
Text copyright © 2016 by Martina Boone
Jacket photographs copyright © 2016 by Arcangel Images (bridge) and Getty Images (couple)
Author Photograph © by Nirusha Benham
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Jacket designed by Regina Flath
Interior designed by Hilary Zarycky
The text of this book was set in Granjon LT std.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Boone, Martina, author.
Title: Illusion / Martina Boone.
Description: First Simon Pulse hardcover edition. | New York : Simon Pulse, 2016. |
Series: Heirs of Watson Island | Summary: “Barrie must rescue her beloved and her family from evil spirits that cursed Watson Island centuries ago” —Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016005937 (print) | LCCN 2016031709 (eBook) |
ISBN 9781481411288 (Jacketed Hardcover) | ISBN 9781481411301 (eBook)
Subjects: | CYAC: Families—Fiction. | Love—Fiction. | Spirits—Fiction. | Supernatural—Fiction. | Blessing and cursing—Fiction. | Orphans—Fiction. | Islands—Fiction. | South Carolina—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Legends, Myths, Fables / General. | JUVENILE FICTION / Family / General (see also headings under Social Issues). | JUVENILE FICTION / Love & Romance.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.B667 Il 2016 (print) | LCC PZ7.1.B667 (eBook) |
DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016005937
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