Although my latest novel, The Reason for Time, was not published until 2016, I was deeply into researching it at least ten years earlier. Spring cleaning has turned up notes from research sources dated 2005 and 2006, one from the dear Peter Beirne, County Clare local history specialist in Ennis, Ireland, and another from the late, fascinating Eugene Burger, who called himself "Magic Beard".
At the local launch for The Reason for Time, in my town of Gibsons, a man in the audience asked where I'd found the magic I use to fill out the scenes at the Chicago Magic Company, where my character, Maeve Curragh works as a clerk. It was Eugene Burger, I said. He was my main source. Have you heard of him? It turns out the man had heard of him, and seen him perform more than once. Small world, and/or an under appreciation of this classic magician's impact. Because Eugene's appeal depended on more than just tricks. He encouraged his fellow magic crafters to develop a personal magical vision.
Read more at…
https://burnsmar.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-magical-vision-of-eugene-burger.html