Dessert First (32 page)

Yeah—I passed. Whew. Studying with Evan helped my French and Algebra 2 grades, despite the distraction of his earnest brown eyes. And my make-up paper was a hit. Apparently, even a brain-damaged grownup of a World History teacher figured out it was even harder than the assignments it replaced. And, really: Would
you
want Little Miss Attitude Problem back in your class another year? No.

So I get to be a junior, in my actual junior year. Which counts as a major triumph these days.

Anyway, thanks for sitting with me through the worst year ever. As Drowningirl always says—although I'm just starting to understand what she means—be well.

A huge thank you to my agent, MacKenzie Fraser-Bub, who believed in this book for a long time, and to my editor, Jacquelyn Mitchard, for buying it and for helping me make it much better; to Suzanne Goraj, copyeditor extraordinaire; and to everyone else at Merit Press for sharing this story with the world. To my daughter, Alexandra, who read the then-only scene of this book nine years ago on the family computer and said, “This is really good, Dad. You should finish it.” To Merriam Saunders, a terrific writer and approximately the world's best critique partner, and to my great writers' group members, especially Gloria Lenhart, Aline Soules, Laura Remington, and Nanette Heffernan. To my many fine writing teachers, including Margaret Muth, Mel Shields, Jeff Newman, Nick Mamatas, Annemarie O'Brien, Janis Cooke Newman, An Na, Susan Fletcher, Mark Karlins, Kekla Magoon, Shelley Tanaka, and especially David Macinnis Gill. To my classmates at VCFA, who I'm in awe of; to Deborah Davis who provided a professional edit to an early version; and to Daniel Meier who gave me great comments at the same stage. To the folks at George Mark Children's House for the extraordinary work they do and the difference they make. To Dr. Marcy Adelman, who is much better at what she does than the Dr. Anne in this book. To my friends and to my wife, Nancy Ricci, for everything.

You can find me on Twitter at: @deangloster and on the web at
www.deangloster.com
, where (among other things) the character Kat Monroe maintains a (mostly YA) book blog. Be well.