You would not be reading this book if it weren’t for the kindness, encouragement, and support of so many people. First, my husband, Jamie, who hasn’t stopped saying this story is special since he first heard the kernel of the idea and helped me brainstorm more. Thank you for putting up with my middle-of-the-night writing sessions, for talking me through plot points, and for always believing in me, even when I can’t. My parents, Paul and Fay Anne de Freitas, who have listened to my stories since I began writing plays for puppets when I was six. Thank you for showing me the world and all the stories it has within it. My college professor, Rick Wilber, who told me I had important writing ahead of me. I hope I’m living up to that. And God, who gives me strength and lifts me up both in my writing and life.
A huge thank you to Bethany Hegedus, who “got” this story early on and has been an amazing friend and mentor to me and my writing. To Kathi Appelt who chose this book to win her year-long mentorship for the Houston SCBWI Joan Lowery Nixon Award—as well as for her continued encouragement and friendship. And to this book’s first critiquers in the Houston SCBWI Clear Lake Critique Group, including Grey McCallister, Sara Joiner, Kimberly Garcia, Mary Ann Hellinghausen, and Laura Rackham; my early Austin critique group including Sheryl Witschorke; and my beta readers over many, many drafts, including Donna Janell Bowman, Meredith Davis, Holly Green, Vanessa Lee, Salima Alikhan, Shelli Cornelison, Nikki Loftin and any I’ve missed. My words are better thanks to you.
An enormous thank you to Donna for pitching this book to agent Liza Pulitzer Voges, to Liza for recommending it to agent Rachel Orr, and to Rachel for her unwavering championing of this novel and all my work. To my editor, Sarah Jane Abbott, for her love of this boy and his world and her brilliant help to make the story better. To Sylvie Frank and Paula Wiseman at Paula Wiseman Books for their warmth, enthusiasm and support. To everyone at Simon & Schuster who welcomed me into their family of authors and have worked so hard to make this book beautiful and connect it to readers, including Ellen Grafton, Chava Wolin, Valerie Shea, Vanessa DeJesus, Anthony Parisi, Sarah Woodruff, the wonderful marketing, sales, and foreign rights teams, and especially to Laurent Linn who I’m lucky to have as a friend and an art director. And to Justin Hernandez who put so much passion into his amazing artwork for this book.
And thank you to the VCFA College of Fine Arts literary magazine Hunger Mountain, which published an excerpt of this book, back when it was called WAKE. To SCBWI and all the staffers and volunteers who give so much to children’s book writers and illustrators around the world. To my wonderful Austin SCBWI family, including Cynthia Leitich Smith for always having time for advice and a kind word, and to my incredible fellow Lodge of Death writers for being a constant inspiration. To the amazing authors who generously gave their time to read and blurb this novel, you are the greatest! And to all the librarians, book reviewers, readers and, of course, YOU for opening your hearts to stories like mine—thank you.