Dear Reader,

If Payback’s a Witch was a Halloween-scented candle I wanted to crawl into during a difficult time in my life, and From Bad to Cursed was a whimsical haunted-house romp, Back In a Spell is my snow globe. Even though, like Nina Blackmoore, I’m not a winter person, I can appreciate those luminous vibes—and I wanted to offer readers a warm, idealized “mulled wine by the fire, while a snowstorm whirls outside” version of winter in Thistle Grove. A witchy, pansexual Yule romance in the magical town that still holds my heart.

I also wanted a pristine backdrop against which I could explore a deeper, more painful character arc. Nina isn’t the easiest of narrators; she’s from the main line of the generally odious Blackmoore family, the most powerful, ruthless, and entitled witches in town. Up until this book, we’ve seen them only through the eyes of characters who’d found themselves on the wrong end of the stick when it came to dealings with House Blackmoore. But I never intended for the family to be a villainous monolith without texture or humanity. So in Spell, I wanted to portray them as faithfully as possible—but from within, through Nina’s eyes. Nina’s a powerful witch who’s also a lawyer by day; she’s unusually down-to-earth by Blackmoore standards, even if she does have an unabashed love for luxury. But she’s also deeply vulnerable, still reeling from having been all but ditched at the altar by her fiancée a year ago, adrift and unsure how to move on. We’ve all been that kind of messy trainwreck, even if our circumstances weren’t quite so dramatic—which makes Nina surprisingly relatable, a character I grew to love much more than I was expecting. I wanted her journey toward a healthier version of herself to involve not just a new relationship in which her needs and emotions were respected, but also a reckoning with the deep-seated trauma of having grown up in a wealthy but viciously narcissistic and overbearing family.

And then there’s Mortimer Gutierrez, my forever favorite! Morty’s the sexy, offbeat owner of the Shamrock Cauldron, and a lover of burlesque and the circus arts. A grounded, self-aware person whose nonbinary identity and complex but loving family dynamics are just as compelling as Nina’s own arc. As Nina’s magic undergoes a mysterious surge—which happens to be connected to one of Thistle Grove’s biggest secrets!—Morty’s sudden development of magical power and his unexpected witch bond with Nina position him as the moral center of the story.

My hope was that—along with Nina’s normie best friend, Jessa— Morty would be the counterpoint to Nina’s own tempestuous selfdiscovery. A lesson in the fact that we are never the only main character, and that loving others sometimes demands sacrifice and hard decisions.

I hope you love Nina, Morty, and Jessa as much as I do; they got me through some very dark times of my own. May they light your way in the new year and beyond!

Discussion Questions

When we first meet Nina Blackmoore, she feels powerless and downtrodden, stuck in an “emotional fugue state” after having been all but ditched at the altar by her fiancée a year ago. Did her feelings resonate with you, and if so, how?

Right before her first date with Morty, Nina has a very unusual experience at Lady’s Lake. Did you have any thoughts about what might be happening beneath the water’s surface, and how did your expectations fit with what we later discover about the lake?

Nina and her brothers have a deeply damaging and complicated relationship with their mother and grandmother. Can you identify with or recognize any of these destructive patterns, or are you more familiar with loving and supportive families like Morty’s?

Did learning more about the Blackmoores and their toxic background shed a different light on Nina’s brothers, Gareth and Gawain, for you? Did you find that your perspective on the Blackmoores shifted over the course of the story, or did it stay the same?

Nina loves Castle Camelot, and feels that it’s much more of a home to her than Tintagel, the Blackmoores’ ancestral demesne. What did you think of Castle Camelot after seeing it through Nina’s eyes?

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As a Thistle Grove “normie,” Morty has a lot of (largely negative) opinions about the ethics of the oblivion glamour cast over Thistle Grove. To what extent did you agree with him, and could you see Nina’s counterpoints as to why the glamour is necessary for the witch community’s enduring safety?

Nina and Jessa have a very tight-knit relationship; Jessa even moved to Thistle Grove to be closer to her best friend. Do you think Nina’s qualms about the fact that Jessa is unaware of her friend’s witchy identity are well-founded? Do you think she’s letting Jessa down by not trying harder to be more honest with her?

Nina’s power grows exponentially over the course of the story. What struck you the most about seeing her grapple with her enhanced strength, while guiding Morty on his own journey of magical discovery?

What did you think of Nina’s behavior at Tomes & Omens? Do you understand why she chose to take such drastic action, or do you condemn her for it?

Why do you think Belisama chose to bind Morty and Nina? Do you think it was ultimately helpful to Nina’s development—and possibly to Morty’s, as well?

On the whole, do you think you’d enjoy being the recipient of divine favor the way Nina experienced it? Why or why not?

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What did you think of the punishments—and promotions—Emmy Harlow doled out at the Thorns’ Yule celebration? Would you have chosen similarly or differently?