Upon occasion, I’ve encouraged my friends and readers to contact their elected representatives. You might be surprised how effectively you can drive meaningful change by voicing your opinions for the officials who represent you at all levels of government. A big thank-you to Angele McQuaid, Anna Wetherholt, Jennzah Cresswell, Brendan Patrick, Kathryn Fox, and Erica Sirman for contacting their reps when I asked my Twitter followers to pick up their phones! And another thank-you to Anna Wetherholt, who has been tirelessly supportive—you remind me that what I do matters.

If you have not yet read the Engelsfors trilogy by Mats Strandberg and Sara Bergmark Elfgren, you absolutely should. It’s a brilliant series about a group of reluctant witches who have to stop a terrible evil, and the trilogy’s complex magic system was a massive inspiration for the one you find in this book. Thanks are also owed to the cast, crew, and writers of the greatest TV show of all time: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If you’re as big a fan as I am, check out the Slayerfest98 podcast for an episode-by-episode deep dive! (And a shout-out to Ian Carlos Crawford, who is the inimitable host of said podcast, and the nastiest girl in Sunnydale history!)

Writing this book was a lot harder, and took a lot longer, than I initially anticipated. Through it all, my family and friends put up with my perpetual agonies and centrifugal panic attacks, and I am eternally grateful. Love you all!

Best for last, as always: Uldis, this year has been completely bananas, but we’re still here. Through thick and thin, from the Polar Vortex to the Potter Globus, we’re a team—and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Es tevi mīlu, Ulditi.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Caleb Roehrig’s debut YA thriller, Last Seen Leaving, was called one of the Best YA Novels of 2016 by Buzzfeed.com. Caleb lives with his husband in Los Angeles. You can sign up for email updates here.

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