No book is easy, but writing this one during the pandemic was especially difficult. My first thanks have to go to Tiffany Shelton and Jennie Conway, my above-and-beyond understanding editors, who never freaked out about my needing a little (er, a lot of) extra time. Jennie, you guided me over the finish line with this book and I’m forever grateful. Let’s get the whole St. Martin’s rock star team in there while I’m at it: Kerri Resnick for that amazing cover, and the super fabulous marketing and PR team: Mary Moates, Erica Martirano, and Kejana Ayala. Working with you all is a pleasure.
To the Friday Zoom bunch—C, Richard Butner, Ted Chiang, Kelly Link, Gavin Grant, Karen Joy Fowler, Molly Gloss, Barb Gilly, John Kessel, Jim Patrick Kelly, Kristin Livdahl, and assorted guests—for being a bright spot every week and for general commiseration about writing. To my dear friends Kami Garcia and Sam Humphries, same; Kami, there’s no way I’d have finished this without you. To the Moonscribers, my beloved writing group, and to the exceptionally great writers at the Lexington Writer’s Room for a sense of community.
My agents, Jennifer Laughran and Kate McKean, are both the best and never steer me wrong. It’s a gift to have you in my corner.
The pets—Puck, Sally, Izzy, Phoebe, and Stella—you don’t help write the books, but you are essential to my writing them—even if you can’t read this. Christopher Rowe, you continue to be the best part of my life. Thank you for the writing patio and everything else.
And as always, to you, dear readers, booksellers, librarians, and other lovers of books: the hugest of thanks for taking this journey with me.