Wow! I can hardly believe I finished Beyonders. This was the first story I set out to tell as an author. I wrote the first draft of book one right after graduating from college. About four years later, the first book I ended up selling to a publisher was Fablehaven, and I wrote all five of those, plus Candy Shop War, before returning to Beyonders. By the time I got back to it, I had learned a lot as a writer, so I wanted to make some major adjustments, and my editor, Liesa Abrams, gave me a bunch of great suggestions that changed things even more. As a result, I totally rewrote the first Beyonders book, although I kept most of the same characters and problems. I feel lucky that the original version of Beyonders was never published, because I’m very pleased with how it turned out.
Thank you, dear reader, for sticking with me through this series. Your interest lets me do this for a living. Thank you for buying my books, for downloading my books, for telling people about my books, and for asking for them at the library. I love telling stories, and you enable me to keep doing it. I dedicated this book to you, and I meant it.
I need to give lots of thanks to Liesa Abrams, who worked long and hard on this book with me. This was a big story, and this last book had more extensive edits than any other I’ve written. Liesa did tons to make this story better. Simon Lipskar, my brilliant agent, not only helps keep me employed, but also contributed some really smart ideas that improved this story.
I owe a lot of thanks to the whole team at Simon & Schuster. This includes Mara Anastas, Bethany Buck, Anna McKean, Fiona Simpson, Paul Crichton, Lucille Rettino, Carolyn Swerdloff, Mary Marotta, and the entire sales team. They got behind this book in a big way. Thanks as well to Lauren Forte, Lisa Vega, Jeannie Ng, and James Riley.
Other early readers who gave feedback include Mary Mull, Sadie Mull, Bryson and Cherie Mull, Pamela Mull, Summer Mull, Jason and Natalie Conforto, Chris Schoebinger, Liz Saban, Wesley Saban, and the ever-diligent Tucker Davis.
My family deserves special thanks. My job makes me travel a lot, and I often have to write long hours, but they’re supportive and patient, and my wife helps me work through all sorts of story issues. I love them very much.
Beyonders is over, but I have more stuff coming. It won’t be long before some new series begin. I have really exciting ideas for future stories, and I can’t wait to share them. You can find out more at brandonmull.com, fan me on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter @brandonmull.