There was, as always, a village to help along the way:

Scott Miller—my fabulous agent, without whom I’d be lost.

Linda McFall—my brilliant editor, who has the vision to make these stories sing.

MacKenzie Fraser-Bub—the cheer in every day, and the rest of the Trident Media crew, for all their hard work on my behalf.

Adam Wilson—the rock to our paper.

Megan Lorius—my sister in OCD publicity crime. Thanks for the details!

Deborah Kohan and Christine Khoury of Planned Television Arts, who are just plain wonderful.

Kim Dettwiller of Team Strategies—my Nashville insider and quip manager.

The rest of the MIRA Books team: Donna Hayes, Alex Osuszek, Loriana Sacilotto, Margaret Marbury, Diane Moggy, Heather Foy, Don Lucey, Michelle Renaud, Adrienne Macintosh, Nick Ursino, Tracey Langmuir, Kathy Lodge, Emily Ohanjanians, Karen Queme, Alana Burke, Tara Kelly and Gigi Lau—a girl couldn’t ask for a better group to work with. You’re the best!

The BMWs (Del Tinsley, JB Thompson, Janet McKeown, Cecelia Tichi, Peggy Pegen, Mary Richards, Rai Lynn Wood) for listening, critiquing and overall encouraging me.

Fellow writers Laura Benedict, Jeff Abbott, Erica Spindler, Allison Brennan, Toni McGee Causey, Zoë Sharp and Alex Kava, for the daily inspirations and sanity breaks.

My buds at Murderati—the very best blog on earth, hands down.

Evanescence, for getting me in the mood.

Keith Barent Johnson, for bidding on a character name and allowing me to morph him into the Vampyre King. You’re a good sport, Keith.

David Achord, who always has an answer.

Andromeda DeArmande, for her blog Spell Works, which helped set me on the path.

Angie and Traci, for tons of great advice on pathwork. No, I won’t read the spells aloud anymore. Bad me.

Last, but not least, my darling parents, for loving me through thick and thin, and the rest of my great family, for always being there.

And Randy, my love-struck Romeo. Thank God you fell in love with me. What would I do without you?

This novel was a joy to write—surprisingly, no nightmares! I read a number of blogs and books getting myself into the Goth, Wiccan and Pagan worlds, research I found utterly fascinating. The blogs are easily found through Google searches, but here are a few of the books that kept me on the path during the writing of this novel:

Allen, Sarah Addison. Garden Spells. New York: Bantam Dell, 2007.

Belanger, Michelle. The Psychic Vampire Codex: A Manual of Magick and Energy Work. Newburyport, MA: Red Wheel/Weiser, 2004.

Buckland, Raymond. Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft. 2nd ed. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2007.

Cunningham, Scott. Earth, Air, Fire & Water: More Techniques of Natural Magic, rev. ed. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2006.

Digitalis, Raven. Goth Craft: The Magical Side of Dark Culture. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Worldwide, 2007.

Grimassi, Raven. Italian Witchcraft: The Old Religion of Southern Europe (Previously titles Ways of the Strega). 2nd ed. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Worldwide, 2006.

Hesiod. Theogony (Translated by M. L. West). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.

Hesiod. Works and Days (Translated by M. L. West). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.

Illes, Judicka. The Element Encyclopedia of 1,000 Spells: A Concise Reference Book for the Magical Arts. London: HarperCollins, 2008.

Konstantinos. Vampires: The Occult Truth. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Worldwide, 2006.

Konstantinos. Gothic Grimoire. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Worldwide, 2007.

Sabin, Thea. Wicca for Beginners: Fundamentals of Philosophy and Practice. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Worldwide, 2006.

Theitic, ed. The Witches’ Almanac: Spring 2008 to Spring 2009 (Issue 27). Newport, RI: The Witches’ Almanac.

Winkowski, Mary Ann. When Ghosts Speak: Understanding the World of Earthbound Spirits. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2007.