As I sit here at the end of 2020, I’m amazed we made it through. Writing any book is a difficult process that requires the help of countless people; writing a book during a pandemic was a Herculean undertaking. I’d been inspired to set Before We Disappear at the 1909 Seattle world’s fair because the fair site is about a one mile walk from my apartment. I’d strolled through the places where the story happens, and those walks had filled my imagination. I could follow Jack as he ran through the Pay Streak, and wander the same paths through the gardens as Wil and Jessamy. But I lost all of that halfway into writing their story. I, like most everyone else, was bound to my apartment, the daily news reports filling my imagination with dread where once the city had filled it with wonder.
Yet, here is the book. Completed. Often, it felt, just barely. And I couldn’t have done it without the help of these amazing people:
Katie Shea Boutillier has been my agent and my friend, virtually holding my hand through this process. She has helped me keep calm and keep working when I wanted to give up do anything other than write. I’m not sure this book would exist without her.
Dave Linker gave this story a home, and reeled me back in when I went off on one tangent or another. History’s so cool, and I could’ve gone off in a million directions, but Dave made sure I always kept Jack, Wil, Ruth, and Jessamy front and center. This is a better book because of him, and I am a better writer.
Carolina Ortiz’s insight into this story proved invaluable. Her keen wisdom and ability to cut right to the heart of where I need to do better continually amazes me.
Mitch Thorpe, Jessica Berg, Megan Gendell, and the entire team at HarperTeen, most of whom I’ve yet to meet, made this book happen. It’s easy to focus on ourselves and forget that, while it’s been difficult writing books during a pandemic, these amazing folks have continued publishing and promoting books during all this. I am eternally grateful to them.
Valentina Remenar’s illustrations for the cover are brilliant and beautiful. I couldn’t have asked for more.
Usually, I take this time to thank my family, but this year more than any other I am so grateful to them. My mom dealt with my daily phone calls, hanging out with me for an hour even when all we did was talk about how boring our lives were under lockdown. But it’s been my brother and his husband who’ve kept me going. Instead of being forced to isolate completely alone, we formed a bubble of our own, and I was able to walk to their house every night for dinner. Those dinners were sometimes the only thing that kept the overwhelming weight of the isolation from crushing me. I’m so grateful to have them in my life.
I’m also grateful to the librarians and teachers and booksellers who have kept advocating for books throughout all of this. You are heroes, every one of you.
And, finally, none of this would be possible without you. I never expected to publish one book, much less thirteen, and it’s because of you, because of your support, that I’ve been able to do so. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.