This book began on a camping trip with my husband, Mike, who let me chatter at him and nodded in all the right places until I had something resembling a plot. My agent, Lisa Rodgers, was the first one to read that outline and tell me I had something worth writing on my hands, and through every step of the process (as always) she brought a keen editorial eye, boundless enthusiasm, and the business savvy I’m fortunate to be able to outsource.
The actual writing began on a mountain surrounded by a brilliant crew of writers, who provided their expertise on details like the right ammunition to use and what a fox would taste like, while helping me come up with trouble to throw at Jess (so much that we accidentally killed her a few times and had to walk it back). So thank you to Scott Andrews, Andrea Pawley, Mike DeLuca, Susan Sielinski, Erin Hoffman, Al Bogdan, and Rita Oakes, as well as the cows, the turkeys, the deer, and the bear who kept us company. And special thanks to my son, our retreat stowaway.
Many other people provided support, feedback, and consultation along the way. My parents were wonderful as always, and my mom, Alice, helped bring fresh eyes to the manuscript when the text started to swim. I don’t know where I’d be without the No Name Writing Group, so thank you, Rhiannon Held, Corry L. Lee, Shanna Germain, Susan J. Morris, and Erin M. Evans—you guys are the best. Day Al-Mohamed provided immeasurable insight, particularly with regards to Jess’s disabilities, and was generally an excellent human being whom I’m privileged to know. Sylvia Spruck Wrigley and Gwen Hill helped turn my woefully inadequate knowledge of airplanes into something vaguely plausible—any remaining errors are entirely mine. The Class of 2k18, thank you for all of your hard work and support, and I can’t wait for us all to finish out our debut year in triumph.
To my editors, Kendra Levin and Maggie Rosenthal—thank you for your hard work and your editorial guidance; the book wouldn’t be the same without you. The design of this book is absolutely beautiful from cover to cover, so I’d especially like to thank Dana Li for creating a cover that made me gasp and Jim Hoover for an interior design that so perfectly complements the text. And of course I don’t know where I’d be without the meticulous eye of copyeditors like Janet Pascal, Abigail Powers, and Jody Corbett to fix my hyphenation and rampant comma abuse.
The whole crew at Viking has done a fantastic job, as has the JABberwocky team. I’m lucky to have so many immensely talented people behind this book.
Finally, thank you to Vonnegut, who grew up alongside this book and without whom my feet would have been much colder. Who’s a good boy? You are.