Once upon a time, there was an author who dreamed of writing a magical book. She thought she might pluck words from her head like silver strings, setting them down to paper inside the span of a year, as she had with her previous novels.
This particular story had other ideas.
Here I am, on a brisk January morning, sitting at my desk typing out the acknowledgments for The Enchanted Lies of Céleste Artois. This is a moment I’ve yearned for. A moment I wasn’t always sure would come to pass, for although this is my tenth published novel, it was by far the most impossible to write. Warbook was my nickname for the project when I first sat down to draft it in 2017. Little did I know how apt that term would become, how grueling it would be to reach The End.
This book took seven years, five full rewrites, four editors, two publishers, and over five hundred thousand words to become what you are now holding in your hands. It was written through births and deaths, hurricanes, a global pandemic, and the DIY renovation of a crumbling Victorian house that my husband and I decided to tackle while raising two small humans. (Many well-meaning people have asked me how I juggle all of this. I inform them that I no longer have a stomach lining.)
But here we are, finally. My house is still standing. My daughters are laughing in the adjoining room. This book is finished. Thus, the first person I will thank in these acknowledgments is myself. I am so very proud of that author who, when she heard the words not quite good enough, turned around and kept chasing that fiery tiger’s tail of a story.
Of course, this author had quite a bit of help along the way. This book literally wouldn’t exist without Roshani Chokshi—who, from the earliest reads, understood my vision. Thank you, Rosh, for your many words of encouragement and for leading me to the perfect editor.
Priyanka Krishnan has not only been my editor extraordinaire, but my muse. There was no flock of birds involved (at least to my knowledge), yet she still pulled the story out of me and allowed plenty of time for those ideas to grow into a coherent book.
My agent, Tracey Adams, has also been incredibly patient with me, handling phone calls both celebratory and panicked, telling me It’s all going to work out. I would be lost without Tracey, Josh, Anna Munger, Stephen Moore, and all of Adams Literary’s subsidiary rights agents.
Tim Holman and the team at Orbit/Redhook have made the absolute perfect home for Enchanted Lies. My thanks to Alyea Canada for swooping in with a final round of edits, as well as to Tiana Coven and Nick Burnham for their editorial support. Bryn A. McDonald also worked so hard to get this book into shape! Lauren Panepinto, Lisa Marie Pompilio, and Alexia Mazis made Enchanted Lies so very beautiful—seriously, look at that cover! Alex Lencicki, Kayleigh Webb, Natassja Haught, Rachel Hairston and the rest of the HBG sales team, Zoe Morgan-Weinman, and Ellen Wright were all so very instrumental in getting this story into readers’ hands.
All my thanks to my cheerleaders and early readers: Kate J. Armstrong, Megan Shepherd, Roshani Chokshi, Corrie Wang, Pam Gruber, Alvina Ling, Amie Kaufman, and Lyra Selene. A special shoutout to Amy Plum for making sure that my French was accurate. I also have to thank Daniel Kraus for pointing me toward World War I research sources. On the home front, I must thank the ladies at the wonderful bookstore Itinerant Literate, whose open mic night provided the perfect opportunity to test out the opening scene of this book. To Elizabeth Hiott and Margaret Wright, thank you for the evening walks and the margaritas. To Laura Cannon, thank you for childcare and your ever-listening ear. To my support groups: ClubSup, Rad Moms, and the Overworked Writer Moms. To my family: Dad, Jacob, Hannah, Adam, Meredith, Marcia, Cara, Mache, Ariana, Zoe, Mark, Amy, Stephen, Anna Beth, and the rest of the Graudins and the Strausses. To the readers who’ve followed along ever since I first posted hints about Warbook.
To David—phew. We did it. We’re doing it! Thank you for being such a constant source of encouragement and unconditional love. My heart is so very safe with you. I can’t imagine building houses, creating worlds, and raising children with anyone else.
To Sabriel and Gemma, my loves: I hope that when you’re both grown, you’ll understand the power of dreams. That the two of you will imagine a better world and make it so.
Soli Deo Gloria