WRITING ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IN a sequel is like attending a reunion. It’s the opportunity to catch up with dear friends that you haven’t seen in a while and tell them how much they mean to you.
So first I need to thank those who I have thanked before but whose contributions were no less (and perhaps even more) important this time around. Markus Hoffmann, my secret weapon in the world of words. The team at Imprint has done it again! Nicole Otto and John Morgan are editors that every writer would wish for; Wily and his companions’ second adventure would be far less exciting without you. Iacopo Bruno created another stunning cover that brought Valor, Stalkeer, and Stalag to life in vivid color. Steve “Squiddoodle” Turner for the stunning endpapers that perfectly capture the wild inventions of Wily Snare. Natalie C. Sousa, your eye for design is second to none. Madison Furr and Mary Van Akin, who set up events in locations both near and far. And a huge thank-you to editor-in-chief Erin Stein for your continued passion and enthusiasm for a kid from the tomb.
I have had new friends accompany me on the journey to the Below who are in need of thanks. Where once I walked alone hand-in-hand with Trader Joe’s Spiced Mangoes, they must now share my attention with the Trader Joe’s Just Mango Slices. Spotify for hosting my Snared Playlist of fantasy inspiration, which is now public and available for your listening pleasure. And Publishers Weekly for the starred review that literally made me leap from my seat at a restaurant and start doing fist pumps.
I’d like to thank everyone who attended the book launch party at my house. It was a moment of true celebration and I was so happy to have old and new friends eat tacos and make slug slime in my company. A monster shout-out to Mrs. Craven’s fifth grade class of ’18 who was the very first group of students to read Snared: Escape to the Above aloud. To BookStar in Studio City for hosting my local bookstore signing and always placing my book facing outward. And to all the independent bookstore owners and employees across the globe I have spoken with and who have shared Wily with their young customers.
And after every good reunion … you return to your family. I would like to thank my mom and dad for being the East Coast marketing team, visiting bookstores and libraries with bookmarks and flyers. My daughter Olive for her careful inspection of Snared: Lair of the Beast’s cover and her massages when shoulders got tense. My daughter Penny who has learned to edit books while sitting on the couch in my office. (It is only a matter of time before you are writing a book of your own … or you start writing mine. There is most certainly a collaboration in the future.) And to my wife, Jane, with whom I have shared the last twenty years. Our marriage continues to be my greatest pleasure … even more than starred reviews.