Acknowledgments
My thanks go out to many people who helped make this book possible: my husband, Dan, the wind beneath my wings and the fire beneath my butt who keeps my creative brain on task, and my son, Tristan, kept the home fires burning while I sat and worked for long hours at a time. They listened to my crazy ideas, proofread, and encouraged me to keep going. Also thanks to my daughters, Brittany and Chelsea, for cheering me on from afar so I could keep working; with girls like them, they’re never far at all. Thanks to my mom and Papa Gecko for proofreading my proposal. Oh, and Mom—thanks for the old family mirror from the farm; it’s a treasure! Thanks to my dad for all the art gallery memories, which inspired my mirror washes and purifier, and also for teaching me your excellent framing skills that work as well for mirrors as they do for art.
Thanks to my wonderful editors, Elysia Gallo and Rebecca Zins, for diligently keeping me on the right track, answering my newb questions, and skillfully making a book out of a manuscript; to Lynne Menturweck, art director extraordinaire, for helping me juggle writing and illustration deadlines successfully; may your jar of M&Ms never be empty. Also thanks to everyone at Llewellyn, especially Bill Krause, Nanette Stearns, Tom Lund, and Vanessa Wright for making it all happen. Thanks to Deborah Blake for setting the standard for this series with her wonderful and inspiring book The Witch’s Broom and for being awesome in general. A special thanks to John Kachik, not only for the charming cover art for this book, but for all the covers for this whole series; your cover art was always close at hand and inspired me as I did the interiors for this book and the rest of the series. You rock!
My undying gratitude goes to Willow the cat for allowing me to borrow her cat-warming machine with all the funny lettered buttons with which to write this book.
Thanks to my friends on social media and in person who got excited and encouraged me even when I had to keep the title and topic of this book under wraps.
And last but certainly not least, thanks to all of the wonderful witchy authors who contributed their knowledge and personal stories in the “Reflections of Real Witches” segments. These authors lent so much insight and inspiration, and I was honored to have each and every one be a part of this book! Please check out their other works, dear reader; you won’t be disappointed.