Thank you so much to Veronica and Doug for the amazing, fun journey! I had the best time creating this story with you and I love every page.
And as usual, thank you to Ben. There would be no books without you.
Thank you to Jena O’Connor and Lauren Simpson for your amazing editing. And to Orina Kafe for the beautiful cover.
Author’s Note
Veronica Douglas
Thanks so much for reading Wicked Wish. We hope you had as much fun reading it as we had writing it! We dreamed up this series last summer with our bestie Linsey Hall, and took much of our inspiration from our research and adventures in Chicago and the Middle East.
Magic Side is our little slice of Chicago. Sometimes when we’re out running along the Lakefront Trail, we feel as if the island and its fantastical world are right offshore. Magic Side gives us a chance to explore the things that make the Windy City unique and bring its rich history back to life. While Chicago phased out its trolley lines in the 40s and 50s, we made sure they were still up and running in Magic Side. The design of the Hall of Inquiry is partially based on the Administration building from the 1893 World’s Fair, as well as the Museum of Science and Industry—the only remaining buildings from the Exposition. We’ll be exploring the curiosities and culture of Magic Side more in future books, as well as Linsey’s Guild City series!
Now, for some facts. The Oriental Institute Museum, where Neve and her friends battle the gallu demons, is one of Chicago’s treasures. In addition to the countless objects from the ancient Near East that are on display (and hidden in the basement), the OI Museum has numerous artifacts associated with demons and has even held several “demon hunts” as part of their public outreach programs. The most iconic demon from their collection is a Mesopotamian figurine depicting the four-winged Pazuzu—king of the evil winds. The gallu in our book are based on another type of Mesopotamian demon known for dragging their hapless victims into the underworld.
As archaeologists and lovers of stories, we added a little history to our book for flavor. The magic portal that Neve uses to travel to the Library of Alexandria is based on the 4,300-year-old Egyptian chapel of Netjer-User that is currently housed in a break room in the Field Museum. The Library of Alexandria is based on the ancient library built by the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt. And while the structure sadly no longer exists, stories about it are still vividly alive. According to Greek sources, the Ptolemies went to great lengths to purchase and acquire books for the library, even going so far as confiscating books that arrived at the port. After copying the texts, the royal scribes reportedly returned the copies, keeping the original books for the library—how rude!
If you’ve ever visited or seen pictures of Cappadocia, you’ll immediately recognize the region’s alien-like landscape comprised of what are known as Fairy Chimneys—bizarre spires of volcanic tuff that rise out of the earth like towers. Gizli Tepe is a fictional site inspired by the ancient cities that were carved into Cappadocia’s soft volcanic rock. Over the centuries, these underground cities were used by the inhabitants of the region as safe havens, even into Ottoman times. During the early Medieval Period, Cappadocia was located along the Byzantine-Islamic frontier, and subject to frequent Arab raids. Naturally, the region’s underground cities were advantageous places to live and avoid potentially dangerous border skirmishes. This fascinating history provided the inspiration for the clues leading up to Neve and Damian’s trip to Gizli Tepe.
And finally, a few words about our world. Wicked Wish is set in the Dragon’s Gift universe created by Linsey Hall. We’re huge fans of her writing and are super excited that we were able to weave Magic Side into her world. This book gave us a chance to return to our favorite bar and coffee shop, Potions & Pastilles, and catch up with some of Linsey’s characters. Nix and Connor are each featured in their own series. You should check out Dragon’s Gift: The Protector to learn about Nix and her past, and Secrets & Alchemy to learn more about the spark between Connor and Sora. We started writing this series while Linsey was working on Shadow Guild: The Rebel, so Neve and Damian first appear in the adventures of Grey and Carrow. They’ll be popping up again in Linsey’s new series, Shadow Guild: Wolf Queen, and you can definitely expect more exciting crossovers in the future!
That’s all for now but stay tuned for Dark Storm, book two of Neve’s series coming out in March. Thank you for reading and sign up for our newsletter for sneak peaks, extra scenes, and super exclusive content!
About Veronica Douglas
Veronica Douglas is a duo of professional archaeologists that love writing and digging together. Veronica specializes in the archaeology of the early Islamic world, while Douglas studies ancient ships and Egypt. After spending an inordinate amount of time doing painstaking research for academia, they suddenly discovered a passion for letting their imaginations go wild! A cocktail of magic, romance, and ancient mystery (shaken, not stirred), their books are inspired, in part, by their life in Chicago and their archaeological adventures from around the globe.
About Linsey Hall
Before becoming a writer, Linsey Hall was a nautical archaeologist who studied shipwrecks from Hawaii and the Yukon to the UK and the Mediterranean. She credits fantasy and historical romances with her love of history and her career as an archaeologist. After a decade of tromping around the globe in search of old bits of stuff that people left lying about, she settled down and started penning her own romance novels. Her series draw upon her love of history and the paranormal elements that she can't help but include.
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All reference to events, persons, and locale are used fictitiously, except where documented in historical record. Names, characters, and places are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright 2021 by Veronica Douglas & Linsey Hall
Published by Magic Side Press, LLC
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form, except in instances of quotation used in critical articles or book review. Where such permission is sufficient, the author grants the right to strip any DRM which may be applied to this work.
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