Author's Note

All her life, Rosie has lived for the summers spent with her grandmother in the hills of the Ozarks.

It was a reprieve from her parents' bustling life in Kansas City, where her mother harped on everything, pushing her to do more and be more. In Marshallville, Rosie never had to worry about her future. She could be a kid, enjoy nature, hang out with a local boy, Clay, who was her first crush-and kiss. Go on hikes and forage for various plants and fungi among the trees. Help out with the garden where Grams grew herbs she said could heal just about anything.

And well, as far as Rosie knew, they could.

But mostly, it was the stories. Hearing about Seelies and elves and other creatures that her grandmother swore walked the woods surrounding her cabin in Ozark County, Missouri. And hear about the Witch of Marshallville. A local legend from way back that Grams insisted was misunderstood - the woman was trying to protect the town, not hurt it.

But death comes for us all. With Grams gone, Rosie finds herself back in Marshallville, wondering what she's going to do with the property left to her. And the strange request Grams made before she passed to always protect the spring - a mythical spring in a cave that no one has ever found and surely doesn't exist.

Until Rosie discovers that it does.

She now finds herself having to learn the long history of the women in her family and face a world that she thought only existed in storybooks and dreams.

And accept her place as the new Witch of Marshallville.