Many thanks to the following:
Alexandra Machinist, for discovering me in the slush pile and following your intuition. Rachel Kahan, editor extraordinaire. I can’t imagine this novel without your suggestions. And Laura Cherkas, for your keen eye. I am indebted to all of you, and to everyone at William Morrow.
My colleagues at Queens University of Charlotte, especially Charles Israel, Julie Funderburk, Mike Kobre, and Melissa Bashor for reading drafts of this novel (and others) and supporting me. Boris Vinatzer, associate professor of Plant Pathology, Physiology, and Weed Science at Virginia Tech, for answering all of my questions about plant science.
All my dearest friends, especially Megan Ihlefeld, Matthew Lee, and Jennifer McGroarty, for leading lives of adventure and sharing those stories with me. Nina de Gramont and David Gessner, for showing me what it means to live and love as writers.
My mother, Chareatha Franklin, and my sister, Rachel Ripley, for being first readers and never doubting what I hoped to achieve. My daughters, Mimi Creech and Hattie Creech, for understanding why I spend so much time in front of my laptop.
And my husband, Morri Creech, for promising.