“Good,” said Baba Luci. “I’m keeping a close eye on her. I knew something was wrong before, and I’m sorry I didn’t figure it out sooner. It never occurred to me that Bogdana was clever enough to bind the kitchen instead of you.”
Millie shrugged. “Even Babas make mistakes, I guess.”
Baba Luci laughed. “Yes, we do. We’re human, after all.”
Millie handed Baba Luci an elfcake, then asked casually, “Any sign of Cretacia yet?”
“No, none at all,” said the Baba, nibbling her cake. “We’ve searched high and low, all over the Enchanted Forest and using powerful finding enchantments. It is the Council’s opinion that Cretacia is no longer in our Realm.”
Millie nodded. “That’s what Mother thinks, too. So she did get into the Logical Realm.”
“Maybe,” said Baba Luci. “I expect you to keep a sharp eye out for her while you’re visiting your father.”
“Of course,” Millie agreed.
“But there are other Realms she could have entered far more easily than the Logical Realm,” the Baba pointed out. “It would be impossible to search them all. There’s only one thing we know for certain: she’s going to come after you one day.”
“I know,” Millie said. “But she can’t attack me in the Logical Realm, so I can worry about that when I get back. Right now, I’m more worried about packing for my trip tomorrow. What do I wear to a baseball game?”
“I have no idea,” said Baba Luci. “I guess you’ll find out.”
Acknowledgments
A surprising number of people helped me to create this novel. First and foremost, my daughters, who served as both inspiration and audience: Annie, who bakes cakes without using a recipe, and Nora, who wanted a story with fairies and unicorns. Also, my amazing and enthusiastic husband, Alex, who never once complained about all the time and money I’ve spent.
I took three classes while writing this novel, and they were all incredibly helpful: Odyssey Online’s Powerful Dialogue in Fantastic Fiction with Jeanne Cavelos, Writing MG/YA Novels with Holly Thompson, and Odyssey Online’s Getting the Big Picture revision class with Barbara Ashford. Thanks to my teachers and all my classmates. You went above and beyond the call of duty.
I thrust early drafts of A Witch’s Kitchen at just about everyone I could reach. Three different critique groups saw various versions of the novel, so thanks to The Mechanics (Michael, Chris, and Wayne), the North Shore YA Meetup (Sue and Dirk), and the Pathfinders (Dirk again, Jennifer, Laura, Lauren, and Marti). Thanks to Dana, who exchanged manuscripts with me. Thanks also to all the kids and their parents who read early drafts, including (but not limited to): Aggie, Sarah, and Ransom; Alice, Elizabeth, and Jason; Allanna and Rebecca; Laura, who provided many of Petunia’s jokes; Nancy and her sons; Pattie, Tarik, Faiz and Cora; and the entire Upper Elementary at Harborlight-Stoneridge Montessori School.
Thanks to Nina, who helped me with the phrases of High Mystery (Google Translate is not all that reliable when it comes to translating incantations), and to Crystal who introduced us.
Thanks to the amazing people who organize the New England Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators spring conference, and to the Book Doctors who run the Pitchapalooza there and were kind enough to see something in my pitch.
Finally, thanks to the marvelous people at Dreaming Robot Press — Corie, Sean, and Nicole — who helped me polish A Witch’s Kitchen to a publishable state, like perfect royal icing on a cake.
About the Author
Dianna Sanchez is the not-so-secret identity of Jenise Aminoff, whose superpower is cooking with small children. She is an MIT alumna, graduate of the 1995 Clarion Workshop and Odyssey Online, active member of SCBWI, and a former editor of New Myths magazine. Aside from 18 years as a technical and science writer, she has taught science in Boston Public Schools, developed curricula for STEM education, and taught Preschool Chef, a cooking class for children ages 3-5. A native New Mexican and Latina geek, she now lives near Cambridge, MA with her husband and two daughters. This is her debut novel.
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