Acknowledgments

Presumably you’re reading this after finishing the entirety of Hot and Sweaty Rex. If that’s not the case, please understand that you’re risking the element of surprise, as a few of my acknowledgments refer to events in the narrative. I’ll give all of you end-skippers a chance to duck out now and return to your place in the book. Go on, shoo.

For those who remain:

A special note of thanks goes to Zeke Lerner and his parents, Kim and Garrett. The Lerners have always been fervent supporters of my work and close friends, and I look forward to our weekly Saturday morning brunches, even all the way out at the Agoura Deli.

Zeke is an amazing little three-year-old who both adds and speaks Spanish better than I do. He also has spinal muscular atrophy, a surprisingly common disease (1 in 6000), about which the general public knows little, if anything. Just as in the book, in which Jack and Noreen Dugan are afflicted by an adult-onset dino version of the disease, SMA affects the voluntary muscles used for walking, crawling, and, in severe cases, swallowing. Unlike the events in the book, there is currently no cure, though progress is being made every day. To learn more about SMA, please visit www.fsma.org.

Thanks to the fantastic copyeditor Ed Cohen. If you think the writing flows, thank Ed. If you think it sucks eggs, then I guess we can blame Ed, too. I’ve never met the man in person, but he keeps me honest and isn’t afraid to suggest a line change when he thinks I’ve written myself into ugliness. In fact, he’s probably scrutinizing this page right now. . . .

Thanks, as usual, to my wonderful literary agent Barbara Zitwer, and film agent Brian Lipson, who know who to push and how hard, and to Jon Karp, my brilliant editor and steadfast Rex fan.

No book would be complete without mentioning my wife, Sabrina, and my daughter, Bailey. Sabrina is the stabilizing force in my life that keeps me off the heavy medication; if everyone had a partner like her, there’d be many fewer folks on lithium.

At just three years old, Bailey is already way more creative than I’ll ever be, and unafraid to show it. She tells me bedtime stories just as often as I tell her one, and most of the time she trumps me on character and plot. Thank God her syntax is still a little bit off or I’d be out of a job.

Finally, thanks to all my fans who e-mail me with kudos, criticism, and general comments. Writing is such a solitary endeavor that it’s easy to forget that there are people out there reading what I put on paper. Anyone who wants to visit my website at www.ericgarcia.com or e-mail me at eric@ericgarcia.com will find that, though it sometimes takes me a bit to respond, I’m always happy to answer questions and chat, occasionally ad nauseum. Consider yourself warned.