cold.
She turns around and stares at me. God, she looks happy and relieved and beautiful and perfect as she stands there, waiting for me to follow her. I must have a stupid grin on my face or something because she suddenly smiles at me. “What?” she asks.
I shake my head. “Nothing. I was just thinking about the first time I came over here.” We’d both cut school. I’d stood on her porch in this exact spot, and Anna stood inside in that exact same one. When she opened the door I’d been expecting her to be afraid of me after I’d inadvertently shown her what I could do, but instead, she was all giddy and curious, eager to hear how I performed the magic that might have saved her life the night before.
But there was something else in her expression that day. She wanted to
I knew it wouldn’t be simple. That if I walked through that front door and into her world, both of our lives would be changed forever. Still, she seemed worth the risk. Now I know that she is.
So just like I did that day, I take a deep breath and step inside. Anna closes the door behind me.
I’m not supposed to be here.
But I am.
Acknowledgments
This book wouldn’t have been possible without the unconditional love and support of my husband, Mike. He made sure I didn’t forget to eat, knocked that super-daddy thing clear out of the park, and still found time to read this story and give me feedback. He’s the love of my life and stuck with me forever; We even have a padlock on
I absolutely love writing, but it occasionally takes me away from my greatest love: my kids. I’m grateful to Aidan and Lauren for allowing me to be both a writer and a mom, and for understanding that it’s difficult to excel at both at the exact same time. My world revolves around these two incredible human beings and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Boy, has my family turned into a bunch of vocal fans! I don’t even know where to start thanking them for all their words of support and encouragement. To the many,
My friends have simply blown me away with their kind words and constant support for this new endeavor of mine. Special thanks to Jennifer Fall who inspired me with her story about the love locks.
When I wrote
A year ago, I was clueless about the book blogger community, but now I get it. These passionate readers make our worlds go ’round, and I am incredibly grateful for all they do to spread the word about books—not just
So many people in my life have expertise I require for my stories and don’t actually possess. Huge thanks to Mark Holmstrom for continuing the rock climbing lessons, and to Dr. Martin Moran and Dr. Mike Temkin for helping me understand yet another medical condition I knew nothing about.
My agent, Caryn Wiseman, not only represents my work with passion, she patiently brainstorms with me, reads draft after draft, and keeps the encouragement coming when I need it most. Thank you, Caryn.
I’m always grateful for my brilliant editor, Lisa Yoskowitz. I’m not sure other authors get to laugh their way through revisions, but I do. Thank you for loving these characters, for caring so much about every single word, and most of all, for just being Lisa-y.
It’s such an honor to be part of the Disney-Hyperion family. Huge thanks to the entire team, and special thanks to Stephanie Lurie and Suzanne Murphy for believing in these two books from the very beginning, to Whitney Manger for creating another gorgeous cover, and to my wonderful publicist Jamie Baker.