I used a five-syllable word in the title just to freak out one of my students. He thinks that words longer than his fingernail should not be allowed. I think that they should be cherished, like the halcyon days of his youth. (I used halcyon to freak him out even more.) Plus, alliteration is always a good time, right?

Right now I love Poland, population 32 million or so. Never been there, but you know, maybe someday.

The reason I love Poland is that it’s the first country to buy translation rights to my urban fantasy series. That’s right, my first foreign sale is to…POLAND! Not to Germany or Italy or China or even the UK: Poland.

I am grateful to them and of course I hope they enjoy the Polish witches in my series. Malina Sokolowski, the leader of the Polish coven, is one of my favorite characters, and I always delight in writing about her. The Polish coven, as a matter of fact, is quite involved in the plot of HEXED.

I’ve learned quite a bit about Poland in the course of my research for the novels. The primary thing I’ve learned is that I have no idea how to pronounce anything in Polish. I look forward to learning much more, of course, and now I’m quite excited to know that my books will have an international audience.

Thank you, Poland!