The Time Dancer: A Novel of Gypsy Magic - Paperback

by Zelda Leah Gatuskin (Author)

Can one really navigate the vast sea of Time? Celtic fiddler George Drumm is intrigued by symbols etched on the cairns of his remote Sumweir Isle home by ancient Wanderer tribes. The closed double spiral is said to depict the alternating timelines of two parallel worlds. When George learns that there are still Wanderer peoples crisscrossing the great continent, he sets out to find them and learn their secrets. Across the ocean, George soon finds the Wanderers and woos them with his music. He travels with one group after another, at last joining a Gypsy caravan far inland. When time-dancing Gypsy Esmarelda drops in on them from the Future, romance blossoms. But the couple is out of sync in Time. Esmarelda is on a mission to rescue her cat Audy, presumably stolen by her nemesis, Malcom the Master Seer. Her quest takes her, and then George, to the parallel, frighteningly un-magical Alternate World. But in the dusty town of Caliente, New Mexico, the lovers find a friend in Robyn, proprietor of The Lost Unicorn metaphysical shop. As Esmarelda and George leapfrog across the Spiral Map of Time in search of lost cats, missing satchels and each other, they share glimpses of their enchanted universe with Robyn, and confirm what she has always suspected: There is a world of Magic just the other side of our dreams.

The Spiral Map of Time Trilogy details the romantic, magical adventures of the time-traveling Gypsy dancer Esmarelda, and her colorful crew. In Book 1 Esmarelda launches a search that takes her to the unresolved past and into the Alternate World where she is aided by Robyn at The Lost Unicorn gift shop. Esmarelda finds love along the way, but can she keep it? In Book 2 "The Two Magicians, from nowhere to forever" two Master Seers hold the key to colorful carpets that enable Robyn to dance across the Spiral Map of Time into the magical parallel world. This time, Esmarelda must come to Robyn's rescue. In Book 3 "The Ten Years: double or nothing" to be released in Spring 2020, both Past and Future catch up to Esmarelda. Fleeing the Goathorn Mountains after the Two Magicians escapade, she finds that her life has been turned upside-down. Across the Spiral, Robyn's universe is also shaken. The Lost Unicorn, must again serve as a way station between alternating worlds.

Praise for The Time Dancer:

A twisted, clever, spellbinding fairy tale for the 1990's. Gatuskin creates a vivid and bizarre universe, certain to satisfy the appetites of enthusiasts of such authors as Lewis Carroll and J.R.R. Tolkien. -- Michael Bush, Manhattan Theatre Club

Gatuskin weaves a delightfully magical story which tricked me into thinking she was from another time, or maybe a Gypsy in a past life. I'll never look at my cats the same again. --Lisa Law, author, FLASHING ON THE SIXTIES

As a teacher of Belly Dance and its esoteric significance, I would highly recommend that my students read this magical tale. --Swari Hhan