Acknowledgments

The process of making a book “happen” takes so many people, but in this case, there’s one man who has to be thanked above all others. Thank you so much, Brian Farrey-Latz, for spotting my pitch, for begging the book out of me, for putting this whole thing in motion, for totally upending my senior year of college, and for coming up with that twisted suicide pill thing. Chapter 4 is forever dedicated to you.

Thanks to the whole team at Flux who helped bring this book to life.

To Thao Le, agent extraordinaire, for negotiating contracts, championing me in battle, and loving the way my characters swear.

To the teachers and mentors I’ve had along the way, especially Austin Bunn, who taught me everything from storytelling to launch party logistics, and Elizabeth Briggs, who kept my head on straight when my publishing career went from zero to sixty in the span of one email.

To my first reader, Marisa Perez-Reyes, who told me without hesitation, and I quote, “Dude, this book is going places.”

To my critique partners: Tara Sim, master of crossover AUs and the Stark to my Cap, and Traci Chee, who’s a pirate queen in her own right. To the kids on the NW who got me started and the ones who kept me going long after we’d left it behind. To the Sixteeners braving this journey with me and the bloggers who’ve been cheering us on all the way.

And to Mom and Dad, Sarah, and Ivy, for tolerating me when I moved back home after college with no job and a little book deal. The future is scary and full of monsters. Thanks for making it less so.