Boundless (Unearthly, #3)(109)

“And what’s that?” I ask him.

“We’re going to be happy, Carrots,” he says, tucking a strand of my flyaway hair behind my ear. “That’s all.”





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


And now I’ve come to the end of a long road, and there are so many people to thank.

My first big thanks goes to Katherine Fausset. Best. Agent. Ever. You were my pillar of sanity this time around. Thank you for brainstorming sessions, for chocolate chip cookies, for standing by me through the laugh-filled ups and the tear-filled downs, and for always fighting for me. I am so very glad to have you in my corner.

Thank you to my trio of amazing editors, starting with Farrin Jacobs, for believing in Clara and her story from the rough little first draft of Unearthly. I will miss the blue pencil. Thanks to Catherine Wallace, who was with me every step of the way on this journey, quietly asking all the tough questions that would make my book so much better. And a huge thanks to Erica Sussman, my last-minute hero. I can’t express what your enthusiasm, your smart ideas, and your quirky sense of humor meant to me at this stage in the game. I can’t wait to work together again!

Thanks to the rest of the team at HarperTeen: Mary Ann Zissimos, my publicist, who I’m just going to go ahead and thank in advance this time around, Sasha Illingworth, who created such a gorgeous set of covers that people could not help but pick them up, and all of those awesome people who’ve been so supportive from the beginning, including Kate Jackson, Susan Katz, Christina Colangelo, Melinda Weigel, Cara Petrus, and Sarah Kaufman.

I also would like to thank the people who helped me explore and research my northern California setting, starting with my dear friend Wendy Johnston, who chauffeured me to signings and tried out strange pizza and wrangled my kids so I could sneak pictures of a tattoo parlor. Not to mention all the other ways that you are the epitome of a good friend, better than any character I could make up. And I’m sorry all the Wendy scenes keep getting cut….

I owe a big thanks to Keith Ekiss, for helping me find resources at Stanford, and an even bigger thanks to Estela Go, the awesome student who walked me all around campus, didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow when I wanted to excessively photograph the laundry room, and answered my hours (oh yes, hours!) of questions. Clara got to experience Band Run and eat Tater Tots and run up to the Dish because of you! Also, thank you to Dayo Mitchell, the dorm advisor at Roble, for helping me understand how one might approach Clara’s undecided-ness and Angela’s delicate situation. Clara’s life at the Farm blossomed after I spent some time with all of you.

While I’m on the subject of Stanford, I’d like to thank Dr. Quynh Le, my boss while I worked at Stanford so many years ago. Thank you for taking a chance on me and for encouraging me to write after my day’s work was finished. You always said I’d be published someday, and that meant so much to me.

And now thanks to my friends: To Lindsey Terrell, my bestest bestie, for being unapologetically Team Christian when everyone else was pulling for Tuck. To Melissa Stockham, who made me feel like my book was “shiny,” even those times when I kind of hated it. To Joan Kremer, for always being so willing to read for me and to write with me. I am so happy we stumbled into each other as newbies. To Sarah Hall, who has cheered from the sidelines and put my book into so many hands at your library. And last, but certainly not least, to Amy Yowell, who impresses and inspires me daily with your own drive and determination as a writer. I have no doubt that you’ll be putting me into your acknowledgments someday soon.

I also want to thank my writer buddies, starting with the amazing and hilarious Brodi Ashton, a kindred spirit if there ever was one. Fate is a funny thing, but I am so glad it drew us together. To Anna Carey, Tahereh Mafi, and Veronica Rossi, for being the best tour mates and confidantes ever. To Jodi Meadows, for her quiet support and knitted fingerless gloves, and the lovely Courtney Allison Moulton, for giving me permission to have Midas chow down on jelly beans the way Pia does. You’re still on to name the horses in my next book. Finally, a huge thank-you to Kiersten White, for waxing poetic on how much you love Erica—I will always be grateful that you put her on my radar. You rock.

And now thanks to my family:

My mother, Carol Ware, for the hours that you hovered in the corners at bookstores and middle schools with my baby strapped to your chest. Thanks for your wholehearted love for Clara and her story, from the first time I read you the prologue over the phone. And to Jack Ware, thank you for your warmth, your kindness, your humor, and for all the innumerable ways that you offer your support. I’m so glad to be part of your family.

My dad, Rod Hand, for listening whenever I called to rant or worry and always making me feel, by the end of those conversations, like I was capable of doing whatever I set my mind to. And to Julie Hand, for always being eager to read my drafts and giving me your honest opinion.

To my beautiful and hilarious children, Will and Maddie, thank you for keeping me grounded and teaching me to see life from fresh eyes. Squeeze, I love you.

And finally, to my husband, John. This year was a long haul for you, too, and there’s so much to thank you for: for being such a smart, insightful first editor, who helped me unravel so many problems and story lines, for all those brainstorming sessions over dinner, all those late-night last-minute read-throughs, for taking care of the kids without complaint when I had to travel or spend a day working, for your insistence that the book was good and I was good and I could do it, and for sometimes just offering me the hug I needed at the end of the day. I would never have come so far without you by my side.