Guest post by Meg Shaffer and Andrew Shaffer
Meg Shaffer is the USA Today bestselling novelist of The Wishing Game. Her husband, Andrew Shaffer, is the illustrator of the Literary Cats Coloring Book and a series of Mothman picture books for children. They live in Louisville, Kentucky with their two cats. The cats are not writers or illustrators.
About The Book Witch: Come along with the Book Witch in this magical and inspiring love letter to reading from the USA Today bestselling author of The Wishing Game. Released April 7th 2026.
Sprayed edges are sooooo 2025. Colored end pages are the hot new hardcover adornment on bookshelves.
For Meg Shaffer’s new fantasy The Book Witch, she enlisted her husband Andrew Shaffer to illustrate the end pages. Working side-by-side allowed them to bring Book Witch Rainy March’s world to life exactly as Meg saw it in her head.
Here is a behind-the-scenes look at the details embedded in their collaboration…
1. The Pilcrow Symbol
A “pilcrow” is a symbol used by copy-editors to indicate a paragraph break. Most people just call it the “paragraph symbol,” and assume the backwards P has something to do with the word “paragraph.” SURPRISE: it’s not a backwards P! It’s actually a C with two lines. The C stands for the Latin word for “head,” indicating the start of a new line. — Andrew
I picked the pilcrow symbol because it indicates a fresh start or a new beginning. Rainy needs a new start in The Book Witch, and she gets it! If you’re considering getting a literary tattoo, may I suggest the pilcrow? — Meg
2. The Astoria-Megler Bridge
Rainy March’s fictional hometown of Meriwether is based on Astoria, Oregon. The Astoria-Megler Bridge is an awe-inspiring four-mile bridge that crosses the Columbia River, connecting Oregon and Washington. It is the longest four miles you will ever drive. — Andrew
3. The Book Witch’s Umbrella
Oregon is a rain forest, but that’s not why Rainy March has an umbrella here. This is a magical umbrella. In the world of the Book Witches, magical umbrellas are used to jump in and out of books to fix malicious alterations and wrangle wayward main characters. But also, it does rain a lot. — Meg
4. Little Free Library
A Little Free Library makes a cameo appearance in The Book Witch. This particular Little Free Library was designed with shake siding, which is familiar on Cape Cod-style homes on the Oregon coast. Salt water in the air turns the unpainted shingles weathered and gray. — Andrew
Rainy March keeps a box of emergency books in her car to refill empty Little Free Libraries. If I had an emergency box of books in my car, they’d include all my favorites—Stoner by John Williams, The Blue Castle by Lucy Maud Montgomery, Paradise by Toni Morrison, Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury, Cry to Heaven by Anne Rice, All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren, and Holes by Louis Sacher! — Meg
5. The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene
The Book Witch. However, the editions most of us are familiar with are the 1960s hardcovers with the distinctive yellow spines. Fun fact: the 1960s editions were heavily rewritten to make Nancy Drew less adventuresome and more of a conformist! — Meg
6. The Book Witch’s Familiar
Some Book Witches have familiars. Some have cats. And some have cats that are familiars, like Koshka here. “Koshka” is Russian for cat—so Rainy March’s cat’s name is “Cat.” He’s a happy boy here—tail straight up, butt exposed to the elements. Since Koshka’s a Russian Blue cat, he’s convinced he’s actually Russian (spoiler: he is not, but he does love Chekov’s short stories. Who doesn’t?) — Meg
