Ava and Taco Cat (15 page)

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Ava fills her diary without even thinking, but me, I work hard on these pages. Fortunately, I have family, friends, and pros who offer ideas and enthusiasm, as well as coffee and chocolate.

I am beyond grateful to my daughters Emme and Lizzi and my husband Rob Ackerman, as well as to Eric, Cynthia, and Marybeth Weston, Linda Richichi, and cousins Matt Bird and Bonnie Beer.

Sam Forman helped me get unstuck, and when I changed Zara's name, he talked me into changing it back. Maybelle Keyser-Butson and Denver Butson and Kathy and H-A-N-N-A-H Lathen helped me dig deeper. Karolina Ksiazek was there at the start and finish. Dwight Edwards and Linda Jones (Gotham Veterinary Center), Celia Aidinoff, and the Ezells all shared pet care insights. Thanks too to Paula and Cara Raskin, Kiera Little, Suzannah Weiss, Barb Doran, H-A-N-N-A-H Judy, Katherine Dye, and Jennifer Lu, as well as to students at Maret, Clairbourne, John Thomas Dye, Columbus School for Girls, P.S. 183 in Manhattan, and P.S. 15 in Brooklyn, who listened to the first pages. And a high five to Elizabeth Winthrop, who encouraged me early on to let Ava have her way with words.

At lunch in April 2013, I met my wonderful editor, Steve Geck, and we realized that he and I and publicist Derry Wilkens had all adopted our cats from Petco. W-O-W. Turns out book jacket artist Victoria Jamieson also adopted her cat from Petco! Here's to adoption events and animal shelters and caregivers everywhere.

I also want to thank Heather Moore, Valerie Pierce, Heidi Weiland, Jillian Bergsma, Rachel Gilmer, Sabrina Baskey, Katie Anderson, Elizabeth Boyer, Alex Yeadon, Dominique Raccah, and the whole Sourcebooks Jabberwocky team.

I'm thrilled to be represented by the amazing Susan Ginsburg (and Stacy Testa) of Writers House. And here's to Middlebury College and the New York Society Library, where I have used prompts to teach writing, and to Ragdale Foundation where I have written and rewritten and rewritten.

Finally, one last shout-out to furry, feisty Mike the Muse, who is affectionate on his own terms and will probably never spend an entire night in one place.

Carol Weston lives in Manhattan. Her parents were word nerds in the best way, and Carol kept diaries as a girl. Her first book,
Girltalk: All the Stuff Your Sister Never Told You
, was published in a dozen languages. Her next twelve books include
The
Diary
of
Melanie
Martin
and three other Melanie Martin novels, as well as her series about Ava Wren. Carol studied French and Spanish comparative literature at Yale, graduating summa cum laude. She has an MA in Spanish from Middlebury. Since 1994, she has been the “Dear Carol” advice columnist at
Girls' Life
Magazine
, and she has made many YouTube videos in English and Spanish for kids and parents. Carol and her husband, playwright Rob Ackerman, live in Manhattan and have two daughters and an inspiring cat. Find out more at
CarolWeston.com
.