Of Metal and Wishes (28 page)
Read Of Metal and Wishes Online
Authors: Sarah Fine
Everything that has happened with this book has felt strange and wonderful, and that is due in large part to the people who have encouraged and challenged me through this journey. My very first thanks must go to Brigid Kemmerer, who read the first few chapters of this story at a moment when I was very unsure if I had the time or skill to write it properly. Her “go go go!” email set me in motion, and less than three weeks later I had completed this book. So Brigid, this is all your fault. (Thank you.)
Major gratitude, as always, goes to my agent, Kathleen Ortiz, who didn’t freak out when I told her I needed to take a few weeks off working on something else so I could write this story, and who later put her foot down and said
this
was the next thing we needed to submit. Thank you, Kathleen, for keeping me sane, organized, and focused, and for managing all the behind-the-scenes details. You’re amazing. Thank-yous are also due to the phenomenal team at New Leaf Literary, Joanna, Danielle, Jaida, and Pouya especially.
To my editor, Ruta Rimas: working with you is as wonderful as I thought it would be. Thank you for understanding this story, for helping me make it better, and for being its champion. This is me, putting my hand over my heart and turning my palm to you. Thank you also to the team at Margaret K. McElderry Books, who have been instrumental in making everything about this book exquisite: managing editor Bridget Madsen, copy editor Erica Stahler, proofreader Katie Grim, and especially Debra Sfetsios-Conover, for designing the cover and interior formatting, and Michael Frost, for the beautiful photography.
So many people have supported me as I’ve bobbed along in the current of the publishing world. Dearest Dr. Lydia Kang, there’s no one else with whom I’d wish to share a case of
folie à deux
. All the shrimp toast goes to you. Jennifer, you are my first and best cheerleader. Jennifer Walkup, Jaime Loren, Justine Dell, and Stina Lindenblatt, you are astute and awesome beta-readers. Catherine, Kim, Anne-Marie, Yerissa, Chris, Casey, Heather, and the entire staff of CCBS: you are excellent, and that makes it possible for me to do both my jobs. Paul, Liz, and Leah, you are practically family—maybe we should go camping sometime. And to the bloggers and readers who were willing to take a closer look at this story just because I wrote it, I hope you know how amazing that feels and how honored I am.
To my sister and brother-in-law, Cathryn and Nicholas Yang, thank you for answering my incessant questions, for providing linguistic consultation, for reading with a critical eye, and for understanding my liberal application of creative license. Thank you to Susan Walters for providing naming inspiration.
And for the rest of my family—Mom and Dad, thank you for always sounding happy when I call at 7:30 a.m. and for making sure I know I will always have a home in your hearts no matter where I wander. Robin, thank you for inspiring me and being my sister, and please know that I’m still waiting for a picture of the singing hair stylists. Joey, thank you for being patient and making sure I have time to do this strange job. Alma, thank you for being such a powerful, mysterious, and delightful creature. And Asher, thank you for building and building and building. I am in awe, and so proud.
Thank you for reading this eBook.
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About the Author
Sarah Fine is the author of The Guards of the Shadowlands series. She was born on the West Coast, raised in the Midwest, and is now firmly entrenched on the East Coast, where she lives with her husband and two children. When she’s not writing, she’s working as a child psychologist. Visit her at
SarahFineBooks.com
.
MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT
authors.simonandschuster.com/Sarah-Fine
MARGARET K. McELDERRY BOOKS
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2014 by Sarah Fine
Jacket photograph copyright © 2014 by Michael Frost
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Book design by Debra Sfetsios-Conover
The text for this book is set in ITC Baskerville.
CIP data is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-4424-8358-3 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4424-8360-6 (eBook)
