First and foremost, thank you to my wife, Crystal. Thank you for letting me talk at you while I untangled plot snarls, for taking care of the house, the kids, the cat while I locked myself away in my office, but mostly for being proud of me and making sure I knew it. I love you.
Abby and Dillan—thank you for trying very hard not to make me crazy. You’re good kids.
Big thanks to my incredible agent, Joanna MacKenzie. Your patience and support as I bounced between genres and age groups as I churned out manuscript after manuscript trying to find my place as a writer should all but guarantee sainthood. I will be forever grateful for the advice, the kindness, and the hard work you’ve put into this book and others.
To Mary Altman, editor extraordinaire, your encouragement has done wonders for my ego. Thank you for believing so passionately in this book, in me, and for helping me discover a genre I never would have imagined for myself.
Thank you to Kim for listening to me whine without complaint, and for being honest when I asked it of you. I am a better person and writer because of your friendship.
To Renee, Henry, Kate, Wendy, Carlos, Andrea, and everyone else from the OG On Fiction Writing group, but especially to Renee, who was never afraid to tell me when I sucked, and then stuck with me until I didn’t.
Finally, thank you to friends and family who have shared in the excitement of this journey and given their unending support: Allison Keller, Emily Monroe, Raul (Oates) Fernandez, Kate Moretti, Erica Nohr, Bert and Amy Jones, and Kellie Gave.