Acknowledgments

A debut novel rarely sees the light of day without having a fairly hefty support team, and Busted is no exception. Kevin Mopsely and I owe an impossibly deep debt of gratitude to Ted Malawer, my indefatigable agent—scholar, champion, and all-around nice guy—for making it all possible, and Nadia Cornier, for sage advice at every step. To Andrew Karre, my nurturing and insightful editor, for coming up with all the best ideas in the novel and allowing me to pass them off as my own, and the A-Team at Flux: Gavin Duffy for the (literally) jaw-dropping cover; Sandy Sullivan for taking my mess of words and tying it up with a nice pink bow; Steffani Sawyer for the elegant interior design; and Brian Farrey for his stalwart mentorship through the promotional side of publication.

My heartfelt appreciation to Nick Green, Simon Hay, and Robyn Reed—my intrepid early readers—who took me to task on everything from mistimed humor to misunderstood feminist ideology (sometimes both at once); Carolyn Moores and Jonathan Prentice, for administering generous doses of unsolicited praise at just the right moments; Julie Pottinger and Megan Atwood, for professional guidance that kept the project moving in the right direction; and Charles and Sandy Odom—my parents-in-law—for putting the whole clan up and looking after us while the final draft of this book was being completed.

I would also like to extend my sincerest thanks to the Seattle Public Library, especially the Northeast branch, for procuring whatever I needed, whenever I needed it, and for not getting steamed up every time my son ruined their displays; the staff at the Coffee Crew and Tully’s Five Corners, Seattle, for fine coffee, friendly banter, and rent-free comfy chairs; John Hubbard and Jim Graham-Brown—the kind of high school English teachers legends are made of—for having faith in my writing, and more importantly, faith in me; and Roy and Angela John—my parents—for making my childhood (even my teenage years!) perpetually joyful. The older I get, the more I realize what a feat that was, and what a tremendous goal for me as a parent. If I do it half as well as you guys, I’ll consider myself a roaring success.

And Audrey—last on the list but first in all things—for impacting each and every page. We both know I couldn’t have done it without you, and it means so much to have shared every moment of the writing, editing, and publication process with you, my greatest advocate. Here’s to many more years of our crazy, breathtaking ride.