Acknowledgements

Girls who love girls deserve faerie tales about girls who love girls (who will live their happy endings together, even if it takes some obstacle-laden middles). Also dragons. You, reading this, deserve to be friends with dragons. The entire world of this novel springs from that need, from the kinds of stories that we don’t get enough of. But I promise, you deserve them. All of them. So my first thank-you is to LGBTQA+ fandom, to those who have the courage to create and read pieces of the worlds we want to live in. Keep being you, always.

Jason Bradley, my editor at NineStar: you know the drill by now. You make me a better writer, etcetera. But you also did something so profound: you believed in Sadie and her adventures and love story. You took a chance on singing dragons, and on me, and I will never be able to thank you enough for that. And Beth Phelan, with your #DVpit amazingness: you make publishing—and therefore the world—so much better every day. Thank you doesn’t cover it.

Marcos, you’ve read pretty much every draft of this thing. You’ve listened to me cry about it, and you’ve been the best cheerleader that Sunnydale High has ever seen (sorry, Cordelia). This time, it’s NOT a trap!! Katie, you enthusiastically endured Sadie’s rambling notes, tied together and called a first draft. Your unwavering support—for my gay disaster characters and my gay disaster self—is something that will glow in my heart forever. Jason, my Nemo, if I’d never FOUND you, I’d have never found enough of myself to write this book. Thank you. Kaysi, Josh, James: from bitmojis and hand-holding to first-times-coming-out and panic-attack-talk-downs, I am so much better because you exist and because (for some reason), you always love me.

Mom, for library trips, bedtime cuddles, and unwavering love. Dad, for storytelling and memories while looking out over Ostego Lake (and getting soaked while searching for deer). Sis, for feeding ants chocolate and showing me how beautiful spiders are. Aunt Jamie, for telling me that thing about looking at my own eyes in the mirror and one day loving who I see (I remember things!).

And my angel: I was going to propose to you with the dedication of this book, but alas, the timing was off (and our engagement was still pretty great, huh?). Erika, you are my soul keeper and you are my first kiss amongst the fireflies. You are dragon flights and life-giving tree sap. You are, my darling, everything. Truly: thank you.