A Darkness Strange and Lovely (31 page)

Acknowledgments

T
his book almost killed me, and the only reason I survived it is because of my best friend, soul sister, frequent sounding board, and fellow author: Sarah J. Maas. You held the megaphone to my ear and shouted at me to keep going. I kept going, and the book
wasn’t
the death of me.

Huge thanks to Biljana Likic for all her help with the book’s Latin phrasing. If not for you, my characters would be speaking in gibberish, and I am so grateful for all you’ve done.

To my Hero Squad, Erin Bowman and Amie Kaufman—thank you, thank
you
for listening when I needed it and for reading the book when I needed that.

To my critique partner, Katharine Brauer: your honey badger feedback turned this manuscript from pure drivel into an actual
story
. I love you for that.

A giant thanks to Meredith Primeau, Erica O’Rourke, and Amity Thompson for being beta readers when I needed criticism and cheerleaders when I needed support.

Endless love and thanks to Sara Kendall and Joanna Volpe for going above and beyond the call of duty over and over again. There is literally not enough space in these acknowledgments to convey just how much I appreciate
everything
you do.

Karen Chaplin, you (and the wonderful Alyssa Miele) helped me transform this book from a giant tome of “talking heads” into a story that made sense. Circumstance might have brought my book to your desk, but I truly believe it’s where Eleanor and the gang were meant to be.

To the entire Harper team working tirelessly (or I assume tirelessly, but in all likelihood you’re terribly exhausted at this point) behind the scenes to design my dazzling covers, set up events, and keep things running smoothly: a million thanks and a million cookies too.

Finally, to my dear husband, Sébastien, and my family—Mom, Dad, David, and Jennifer—you all believed in me long before I believed in myself. I love you.

About the Author

S
USAN
D
ENNARD
is a writer turned marine biologist turned writer again.
A DARKNESS STRANGE AND LOVELY
is the sequel to her debut novel,
SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY
. Among the traits she shares with her heroine Eleanor are a weakness for Shakespeare quotes, a healthy appetite for baked goods, and an insatiable curiosity. Sadly, Susan does not get to wear a corset or wave a parasol on a daily basis. You can visit her online at www.susandennard.com.

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Also by Susan Dennard

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Credits

Cover background pattern © Getty Images

Cover photograph of girl © 2013 by Monica Stevenson

Cover design by Cara E. Petrus

Copyright

HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

A D
ARKNESS
S
TRANGE AND
L
OVELY

Copyright © 2013 by Susan Dennard

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Dennard, Susan.

    A darkness strange and lovely / Susan Dennard. — 1st ed.

        p.        cm.

    Summary: “Eleanor Fitt flees to Europe to seek the help of the Spirit-Hunters after a villain from her past resurfaces, only to find that, in Paris, there’s a new kind of evil lurking”— Provided by publisher.

    ISBN 978-0-06-208329-6

    EPUB Edition JUNE 2013 ISBN 9780062083319

    [1. Brothers and sisters—Fiction. 2. Dead—Fiction. 3. Magic—fiction. 4. Zombies—Fiction. 5. Paris (France)—History—19th century—Fiction. 6. France—History—19th century—Fiction. 7. Horror stories.] I. Title.

PZ7.D42492bDar    2013.

2012038125

[Fic]—dc23.

CIP

AC

13   14   15   16   17      LP/RRDH      10   9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1

FIRST EDITION