I have been writing all my life but never imagined I would come this far: publishing the finale of my debut duology. But neither The Last Bloodcarver nor His Mortal Demise are mine to claim alone. In fact, this duology—from my laptop screen to your hands—has been the product of many people, both those on my publishing team and those who have supported me along the way.
Firstly, none of this would be possible without my editorial team: Emilia Sowersby, Emily Feinberg, and Makena Cioni. Thank you for understanding the heart of this novel and helping me translate that to the page. Of everyone, this story would not be the one I wanted to tell without you.
Thank you to my team at Roaring Brook and Macmillan as a whole. My experience publishing this book could not have gone any more smoothly, and that is in great part due to all of you. To Mia Moran, Emily Stone, Katy Miller, Jackie Dever, Jennifer Healey, thank you for making sure HMD made it to print in its topmost form. I also want to express great appreciation to those responsible for a gorgeous sequel cover: Meg Sayre, Aurora Parlagreco, and Mallory Grigg. Thank you to Charis Loke for bringing Theumas and Yarong to life. To my publicist, Morgan Rath, I don’t know how you possibly stay on top of it, but you have my eternal gratitude for guiding me through the people-facing aspect of being a debut author. To my marketing team—Teresa Ferraiolo, Naheid Shahsamand, Samantha Fabbricatore, Carlee Maurier, and Molly Ellis—thank you for getting this book out to as many readers as possible. The same goes to Kristin Dulaney and Jordan Winch: Thank you for helping my words travel the world. Thank you to Celeste Cass for helping this book take shape. My greatest appreciation goes out to Allison Verost and Connie Hsu, and everyone at my imprint for the loveliest publishing journey a debut author could ask for. To Teresa Tran, for your work on both book one and now its sequel, thank you.
This would not be at all possible without my agent and agency, so thank you Ramona Pina and BookEnds Literary. Through BookEnds, my duology has not only found a home, but I have also found a great community within my agent siblings, to whom I owe my sanity.
To my pillars within the writing community, thank you for your ongoing and enduring support. Mia, Selena, Elise, Emma, Trinity: You cheered me on for book one and continue to cheer me on for book two. Tiffany and Sarah Street, I’m blessed to know authors as talented as you two. Sarah MacLean, thank you for being the first to celebrate anything with me.
To friends new and old, thank you for all you do, inside and outside of my writing. Maan, Alvin, Hena, Sarah, Justin, Yoshi, and Lauren: Medical school has been a hoot thanks to all of you. And thank you to all those in my life who have shared my journey with me.
To my closest loved ones, you deserve pages and pages of appreciation, but I’ll try to be concise. Charles, thank you for all you’ve done and sacrificed for me. I appreciate you more than words can ever express. Brendan, you’re still my North Star, my Majora (that’s a book reference, but please don’t read this). Cameron, though I’ve striven to pave a path for you, you’re destined for a greatness beyond me. Caiden, I just know one day you’ll do amazing things, and I can’t wait to be there to witness it.
To my parents, thank you for your endless support. You’ve both sacrificed so much for me to pursue both my passions, writing and medicine. I am nothing if not the product of your love, time, and dedication. As such, please know that everything I write is dedicated to you both.
And of course, last but never least, to my readers: Thank you for following this journey with me to the end. You have my boundless appreciation.