Winter Glass (Spindle Fire #2)(74)

Isabelle wished for Aurora to find true love.

And perhaps, after all, she did.





Acknowledgments


I thought the sequel to Spindle Fire would be easier to write than the first book. I was wrong! At many times this book seemed instead like the winter glass itself—an impenetrable paradox. No matter how I held it to the light, it refused to reveal its secrets to me. I think that’s why the theme of storytelling emerged—how do you know what your story is, and how do you let its message find you, instead of the other way around? That’s the miracle of writing: the moment the story discovers and claims you.

I have many people to thank for supporting me in this process. I will start with Kamilla Benko, Alexa Wejko, and Tara Sonin, who all contributed, at various times, from helping to brainstorm Aurora’s dark journey to untangling the logistics of all the curses. Kamilla, the hour hand inside the clock was a stroke (pun intended!) of pure, Cinderella-inspired genius! As always, I have Lauren Oliver to thank as well, who talked me through my own low moments with this book, and reminded me of the simple fact that the true self is uncluttered; it’s always there, at the center of everything—this was, in a way, what Isabelle needed to remember too.

Then there are Jess Rothenberg and Rebecca Serle, who spent many hours beside me, type-type-typing away, in addition to the other members of the Type A Writers’ Retreat.

A super-powered thank you to the SPINDLE SQUAD (who deserve ALL CAPS!) for cheering me on and supporting the series from the start. You. Are. Amazing. Huuuuge thanks are due to Adam Silvera too, the brains and brawn behind so much that goes on to get both books into the hands of readers and fans, and to Emily Berge, who swooped in late in the game like an unexpected faerie to help out!

Thanks are, as ever, due to my wonderful editor, Rosemary Brosnan, who helped to bring clarity to every muddled moment. And thank you as well to Stephen Barbara: literary agent, venting partner, savviest suit wearer, and lifelong champion.

I’m incredibly grateful to everyone at HarperCollins and Epic Reads, including the indomitable Kate Jackson and Suzanne Murphy, as well as Andrea Pappenheimer, Jessica MacLeish, Courtney Stevenson, Erin Fitzsimmons, Barb Fitzsimmons, Kate Engbring, Bess Braswell, Olivia Russo, Sabrina Abballe, Bethany Reis, Laaren Brown, and everyone else. (There are just so many people whose hands and hearts touch these books!)

Same goes to the team at Inkwell Management, including Lindsay Blessing and Claire Draper. And to artist Lisa Perrin for making the covers of my dreams! Thanks as well to glorious Diana Sousa for her awesome graphics and incredible world map. And thank you to Howie Sanders and Jason Richman at UTA, for all their efforts on behalf of Spindle Fire on the West Coast.

Thank you to my family and family-in-law—I can’t list all the names here, there’s just not enough room! But in the theme of sibling love, I’d like to give a shout-out to my sisters and brother—Shira Hillyer, Megan Schulz, and Adam Schulz—and to my grandmother, Ellen Friedlander, who passed away during the writing of this book, but who reminded me, a month before she died, that I should chill out a little. With any luck, our greatest work is still ahead of us.

Finally, thank you to my husband, Charlie, for the countless ways he supports me, and to my Minna Freya, who is, I’m beginning to think, part faerie after all.