FOREWORD

I ’m flying along at 39,000 feet (give or take) on the initial leg of the SYLO tour . . . the first book in The SYLO Chronicles. Touring with a book is one of the great joys of being an author. Okay, that’s not entirely true. The actual traveling part isn’t the greatest. There are seemingly endless flights, too much fast food, and not enough opportunity to do laundry. Very glamorous.

But those are minor inconveniences compared to the payoff. When I’m on tour, I get to meet hundreds of enthusiastic readers. There is truly nothing better for an author than having someone come up to them and say, “I loved your book.” For that, I’ll take off my shoes at airport x-rays and sit cramped in an airline seat for hours with nothing to eat but a tiny bag of peanuts. It’s totally worth it.

Writing for young people holds its own special benefit for I am speaking to an audience that is constantly regenerating. Many readers who are now enjoying Tucker Pierce’s adventure on Pemberwick Island never heard of Bobby Pendragon. On the other hand, I also meet adult readers who grew up with the Travelers. I actually met one young woman who has a “Hobey ho, let’s go” tattoo! I don’t recommend doing that, but I thought it was pretty awesome.

I say this to try to explain how much I love creating stories and sharing them with you. I am so fortunate that my job is to tell tales. On the career caché scale, that probably puts me somewhere below people with “real” jobs and just above clowns. (Then again, for those who have read Pendragon or watched AYAOTD?, you know how I feel about clowns, so maybe that’s an unfair, biased statement. Sorry, clowns.) Thank you so much for reading my books and for allowing me to have a job that I can do in my sweats. I hope I get to meet you in person someday.

Speaking of thanks, in spite of the fact that it’s my name on the book, there are many people who have helped, directly and indirectly, in getting this book to you.

The principle editor of Storm was Laura Arnold. I say “principle” because Laura has moved on to new adventures. Her talent shows in every page of this book, and for that I will always be grateful.

The new SYLO editor is Caroline Donofrio, who has taken up the reins and embraced the story. Though I had to warn her: I am now 4 for 5 with my editors (and their husbands) getting pregnant with their first child. (See the aforementioned “adventure” Laura is now on.) Caroline assures me that I will not be 5 for 6. At least not yet. I’m sure she believes that, but history says otherwise. Just sayin’. Thanks Caroline. Good luck.

I am so very grateful to all my friends at Razorbill for their support of The SYLO Chronicles. Many readers want to know why a book can’t come out as soon as I finish the first draft. Well, it’s not that easy. There’s a process and a very long list of people who have an impact on every book that is published. Dozens of dedicated people work in marketing, sales, editing, design, production, shipping, and many other departments who work their magic to help create the book you now hold. Thanks to you all.

Of course, the booksellers who are avid supporters of reading deserve a very big thanks as well.

I am also very grateful to my personal team of Richard Curtis, Peter Nelson, and Mark Wetzstein.

Finally, my two blondes, Evangeline and Keaton, deserve thanks for being my constant source of support, love, and criticism. All are extremely valuable. Even the criticism. Usually. I love you both. I am very proud to say that my daughter, who wasn’t even born when my first Pendragon book was published, has now read her first “big” book . . . and it was SYLO. Better yet, she loved it. She was also the first kid to read Storm. How cool is that? Next thing you know, she’ll be giving me story notes.

That’s it. Acknowledgments complete. Time to get down to the real business that has brought us back together.

When we left Tucker, Tori, Kent, and Olivia they had just escaped from Pemberwick Island and found that Portland was deserted. A few buildings were missing too. Oh yeah, and they discovered the wreckage of one of the black marauding planes that had been battling the U.S. Navy. On its wing was the logo of the U.S. Air Force. Uh . . . what?

When books end on a cliffhanger, the expectation is for the dilemma to be quickly resolved in the beginning of the next chapter. Or the next book.

Don’t count on that, boys and girls.

We’re just getting started.

There’s a very big storm brewing.

Hobey ho, let’s go.

D.J. MacHale