Witch, Wolf, Woods

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wrote this book during the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, both as a way to help myself stay sane and to help process my own sense of having no control over anything in my life. In a time of such upheaval and uncertainty, I found myself returning to familiar books and stories, ones that provided comfort not because they told me the world was a safe place, but because they assured me that, even though the world was indeed dangerous, there was still hope to be had for those brave enough to carry it.

I've loved fables and fairy tales for as long as I can remember, a passion that may have to do with my own family ties to Germany and my roots in Germanic heritage. The Schwarzwald is a real forest that exists in southwest Germany, and I can't wait to visit one day when global travel resumes.

While writing is a solitary process, I'm fortunate to be supported by so many incredible people who each have my most sincere appreciation:

Thank you to my sister for her patience in looking over book cover designs, watching book trailer videos, and generally bearing with me as I went from having a single idea to creating an entire world within a book. Thank you for reminding me that it's necessary to take breaks and rest, as well as for always reassuring me that my creative muse hasn't abandoned me and that the writing process goes through cycles and phases, just like everything else in life.

Thank you to my mom for reading something I know is outside of your usual genres. I appreciate every single text you sent saying what you liked about the chapters and how much you were looking forward to the next parts being posted. You've always been an unflagging supporter of my writer, and I can't thank you enough.

Huge thank-you's to the Bowman family for their support, including Leslie, Carson, Lindsay, Evan, Nicole, Shannon, and Katie. Thank you to Kimon Flanagan and Kevin Curdt for their enthusiasm, stars, and comments. Thank you also to Carol Blomquist Kruger and Lisa Weldon for their excitement over this book on social media and being so willing to help support my dreams.

Massive shout-outs of heartfelt thanks to the Wattpaders who very first discovered this story and added it to their libraries, including Zamora_san, bear_bear62, KaylReilly, Everdear, dizzzyy_05, miss_authoress20, 0oMuffino0, and Ooonai. I owe a special debt of gratitude to LadyinTower...your support, comments, stars, and investment in my book was exactly the sort of accepting community I'd hoped to find on Wattpad, and I'll be forever grateful to have discovered your amazing work, The Dark Dark Woods.

And finally, thank you to my amazing husband, Cameron, who supported me through the writing of this book and counted down to every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday when new chapters would be posted. Your belief in my writing still amazes me, but it's a dream come true to be able to talk about characters, plots, and world-building with my partner. Conversations on the trail with you single-handedly inspired the metal forest Sabrina and Kobald dreamed of creating, and you provided so many wonderful lines that were eventually spoken by Wolf. I love you more than anything.

Wolves are historically misrepresented in fairy tales, and they're terribly misunderstood creatures. I encourage you to visit the Wolf Conservation Center (www.nywolf.org) to learn more about how essential wolves are to this world and why they're worth protecting and saving. You can also check out ambassador wolf Zephyr, who I sponsor in honor of Wolf/Max.

I wrote what I love to read, and I also wrote this for anyone else who has ever felt like Katja, alone, misunderstood, wishing life would change but unsure of how to make that happen, and afraid to accept her own uniqueness. If I could give her, my own younger self, and anyone who reads this book one take-away bit of advice, it would be this...love who you are and celebrate the things that make you different. Life is far too short to try and fit in when you were born to stand out.

And just in case you were wondering, I intended this book to be a stand-alone story and thought I'd said everything I wanted to say about the Schwarzwald, the Hexen, and the Waldkonig...but apparently, I was wrong. The story of Katja's mother, Sabrina, and her journey into the Black Forest needs to be told, so I'm currently working on the prequel, AFFINITY WITCH. Thank you, dear reader, for investing your time and attention in my writing, and stay tuned for more to come!