This book is dedicated to fun. No doubt I will hear about this from my wife, children, and/or mother, but I dedicated the book to the very thing it was written for. Writing Insert Coin to Continue was a romp. It made me feel like I was twelve again, but not in a here-comes-the-acne-and-awkwardness way. In a good way. In a did-you-know-there-was-a-secret-code-that-gives-you-infinite-lives kind of way. In a first kiss kind of way.
And there are a lot of people I have to thank for making it such a blast to write.
First off—big thanks to Amy Cloud, my editor, who sounds like she should be the protagonist in a kick-butt RPG. Thank you for your unending patience, wisdom, and enthusiasm, and for helping this book reach the next level without making me start over. You are the Clank to my Ratchet. The power pellet to my Pacman. The Luigi to my Mar . . . you know what . . . I’ll just stop there.
To the rest of the team at Aladdin—Mandy Veloso, Erica Stahler, and Karin Paprocki—many thanks for correcting my math and for whipping Coin into shape. I couldn’t have asked for a better squad. Thanks also to Orlando Arocena for making the little boy inside me pine for the days of dropping quarters into Galaga every time I look at this awesome cover.
Thanks to Adams Literary for their persistence, finding a home for all of my stories, even the whacky ones. I’m going to try and get you guys to publish my collection of limericks from the second grade next.
To my family and friends for their continued support—to my lovely wife, Alithea, and especially to my kids, Nick and Isabella, who are in many ways responsible for this book. Life is a crazy game. There are a lot of levels to gain, a lot of puzzles to solve, a lot of bosses to beat, but you have taught me to have fun playing and never give up.
Because the rewards are worth unlocking.