Thank you, as always, to all the readers for embracing my Heroines. They appreciate you, and so do I.
My superteams remain my greatest strength, and I have extra big love for all of them as we support each other through a global crisis. Thank you to the Girl Gang(s), the Shamers, the Ripped Bodice crew, Heroine Club, the incredible Asian American arts community of LA, Asian American Girl Club, the Kuhn-Chen-Coffey-Yoneyamas, the many writing sprint support threads and convention squads, Team Batgirl, and my recently reunited (virtually!) college crew. I could not have finished this one without all of you.
Thank you to my agent, Diana Fox, and my editors, Katie Hoffman and Betsy Wollheim, for working their usual magic. And thank you to Alexis Nixon, Josh Starr, Jessica Plummer, and everyone at DAW, Fox Literary, and Penguin Random House for the superhuman strength you put into getting these books out to the world. It’s always appreciated, but it’s appreciated even more right now.
Thank you to Jason Chan, who always brings my girls to life beautifully, and to Tom Wong, who helped me break this story and then break it again and again and again.
Much of this book drew inspiration from my time at Mills College (only the good parts, I swear)—which is not exactly Morgan College, but eagle-eyed sorts will recognize a few similarities. The ghost stories I heard and the friendships I made while I was there influenced a lot of my story—as did Carpet Ball, who totally exists in the real world. Thank you to all the incredible college friends and professors who changed my life—so many of you became my sisters, and I can honestly say I don’t think I’d be doing what I’m doing now if not for you. I love you as much as I used to love chicken tender night at Founders. And some of you might spot your names in this book if you look closely enough.
Thank you to Jeff Chen, for all the things that go beyond words—I think you are maybe the best person in the world.