Acknowledgments

For the last ten years, I’ve worked various desert biology jobs that helped inform the details in this book. For the first four of those years, my husband and I lived year-round in the ancient Toyota truck that you can see in the background of my author photo. For the rest of that time, we had a home base but still lived between three to nine months of the year in our Toyota or cheap motels like Mari’s.

When it comes to the details about desert animals, or bio life, or the tasks and dangers of lineman work . . . it’s all as real and accurate as my own experience can make it. A few details have been changed to protect the insiders of turtle club, though none of the people in the book are taken from real life. Lineman work really is crazy dangerous and some companies are careful and care about their workers and some companies don’t, to the extent that it’s literally criminal. As far as the specific laws and rules referenced in this book: some laws are federal, some come from the state, and some guidelines change by the job, according to the restraints of the Biological Opinion written by the supervising agency. Some laws have changed already since this manuscript was written. I based the specific regulations on a power line job I worked several years back, but I’m sure some inaccuracies or mistakes have crept in.

Desert tortoise populations were documented as declining more than ninety percent in the twentieth century, and continue to decline at a staggering rate, despite efforts to set aside more land for them, and vast improvements in translocation protocols. If you’d like to find out more about how you can help, go to the Desert Tortoise Council’s website at deserttortoise.org.

The first person I need to thank in these acknowledgments is my husband, for being my partner in this crazy life. Not many couples can hike five meters apart all day, huddle in a truck bed all night, and cook outside in fifty-mile-per-hour winds, without eventually killing each other. You’re the best roommate on earth, and you’re not allowed to die. Ever.

All my gratitude and awe go to my incredible agent, Naomi Davis of BookEnds Literary, who blows my mind anew every year that we work together. I can’t believe how great you are at making all my writerly dreams come true, over and over again. I will never forget you calling me while I was in a motel room by the sea, to babble about how much you loved this book. Or my husband blushing while he told me to lower my voice because our conversation about Jack’s “attributes” might be scandalizing the motel neighbors.

My eternal thanks to Kristine Swartz, for giving this book a home and a team of incredible professionals to bring it to the world, and for protecting my vision for the characters. I love how you’re willing to let me go there with my books, even about tough topics. Sorry again for Jack’s foul mouth. We can start the swear jar on the next book.

Flavored ChapSticks and fruit baskets to Jessica Mangicaro, Jessica Brock, Dache Rogers, Brittanie Black, and the rest of my hardworking team at Berkley, for being the bearers of good news, and the wizards behind the curtain working tirelessly to produce that good news. All publicists and marketing people go directly to heaven. It is known.

Hugs and crooked cakes to Katie Golding, who has been there since my very first fanfiction, weathering every celebration and disappointment with me, and living in my phone to keep me company when my husband is gone and I’m alone in the desert for too long. I love you, girl. Almost as much as I love your incredible books. ;)

I owe peach muffins for life to Gwynne Jackson for reading and voting on approximately one billion versions of the opening to this book. Your steadying presence and unwavering kindness are a constant inspiration to me. The sea otter pics don’t hurt, either.

All my love to Sandra Lombardo of Reads and Reviews, my books’ godmother, who gave lovely notes on this story and is there to support every one of my works. Thanks for always sending great reading recs and fangirling over books with me.

Special thanks this time to my workshop partners at the Pneuma Creative Meditation and Revision Retreat: Heather Demetrios, Lyn, and Shelly. Thanks for helping me dig deeper into Mari’s character, figure out a better climax, and make her goals more concrete. That retreat week was magical (Ingrid, I love you!) and I have to give a special shout out to the amazing Highlights Retreat Center in the Pennsylvania forest, and to German Chef Lady and her very inspiring story about four-leaf clovers.

Peanut butter cookies and all my heart go to Margaret Torres, who still has no idea how much her enthusiasm breathes life into my muse.

Blankets and hand-warmers and love to Rhylaigh Richler, who has been a light in every tunnel I’ve ever been in.

Thanks to Sarah Bailey for her excitement about this book and all her very useful notes, and for being my musical soul sister.

Blown kisses to my collective fiancé, the Berkley Art Department. I proposed marriage to all of them collectively for the gorgeous cover of Unbreak Me and I was forced to declare my undying love to them again when they nailed the cover for this book on their first try. Considering I’m that author who asks for “just one more tiny adjustment” approximately 436 times for every cover, that is a feat worthy of temples and marble statuary.

Big love to my wonderful family and my mom, who is the world’s most hardworking publicist, and a killer bookkeeper. Thanks for all the spreadsheets, Mom!

To my fanfiction readers, whose love and support got me into this writing career, and whose reviews and belief in me have revived my rejection-crushed heart for far more than its allotted nine lives. God bless you, every one.

I do realize these acknowledgments are eight hundred years long, but I can’t finish without giving a wave of my sun-gloved hand to all my fellow tortoise biologists. I’ve been to a lot of countries, on a lot of continents, and tortoise bios are by far the strangest, most independent-thinking, competent, and kind individuals I have ever encountered.

You all have squinted through sandstorms, slogged through rain, and sweated—endlessly sweated—with me. We’ve twisted our ankles in the scree fields of Mt. Doom, and staggered through the Valley of Fun. You’ve made me laugh when I was too tired to see straight and invented birthday presents and parties for me when we were oh so many miles from any store. Most importantly, you taught me how to keep searching without ever giving up, despite thousands of hours of finding nothing, because on the 10,001st hour, sometimes there’s a tortoise! That was truly the best preparation for a writing career that a girl could ask for.

Tortoise work has been hard, but it’s afforded me the freedom to build a life better than my wildest dreams. I am infinitely grateful for that, and for all of you.