My thanks to editor extraordinaire Tom Hoeler, for his ceaseless hard work, endless enthusiasm, and superlative skills. Tom, Elizabeth Schaefer, and the whole team at Del Rey pulled out all the stops on this one, and I’m eternally grateful for being given the opportunity to work on such an exciting project—a project that wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the imagination and vision of the Duffer brothers and Netflix, who created a whole universe and were gracious enough to let me play in it. My thanks also to Paul Dichter for his advice and insight.
Heartfelt thanks as always to my agent, Stacia Decker at Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. Thanks also to David M. Barnett, Bria LaVorgna, Cavan Scott, and Jen Williams for their support, and to Martin Simmonds for the wonderful art print of Eleven that hangs proudly on my office wall. Special thanks to Jason Fry and Greg Prince for the in-depth knowledge of baseball in 1977, and to Greg Young and Tom Meyers of The Bowery Boys: New York City History podcast for research assistance.
Being able to add to the mythology of a show like Stranger Things is a real honor, and it just wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t for David Harbour and Millie Bobby Brown, who brought Jim Hopper and Eleven to such vivid on-screen life. I hope I’ve done your characters justice.
Finally, to my wife, Sandra, for infinite patience and love and encouragement when I needed it the most. This one is for you.