The Apple Throne (39 page)

The United States of Asgard is a nation of poets and warriors, of rock bands and evangelical preachers, of gods and their children. The media tracks troll sightings and reality TV is about dragon slaying and teen prophets. The president rules the country alongside a council of Valkyrie, and the military has a special battalion dedicated to eradicating the threat of Greater Mountain Trolls.

Welcome to the United States of Asgard: Be sure to watch for troll-sign!

GOLD RUNNER tells the story of Amon Thorson, bastard son of Thor Thunderer, a rebel who specializes in illegal troll artifacts and elf gold. Someone has stolen Loki’s Mask of Changing, and Amon is the prime suspect, putting a famous hunter and a mysterious stranger on his tail.

LADY BERSERK is about Vider, the first female berserker warrior in generations, who is loved by Loki Changer but determined to stand on her own. One of six celebrities invited to participate in a televised dragon hunt, she knows things are not as they seem—which is usually a sign Loki is up to his old tricks.

GLORY’S TEETH offers a glimpse into the wild heart of the Fenris Wolf, also called Glory, trapped in the shape of a teenaged girl for hundreds of years so she cannot grow large enough to devour the sun and begin the end of the world. But Glory’s seen signs that now is time she’s fated to hunt Baldur the Sun down and eat him.

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The Weight of Stars

Thank you readers: everyone who has loved The United States of Asgard. Thank you for spreading the word, for letting me know your feelings, for posting playlists and art online, for emails and tweets, and even those anonymous Tumblr asks making me think harder about my world building. Every single one of you has made this better and easier for me. You make publishing worthwhile.

Thank you Natalie: You make me happy, even when I’m doing my best to be sad. I wish you had to put up with a lot less BS.

Thank you Laura Rennert: I struggle to find the right words for this. And thank you Lara Perkins and Victoria Piontek and Jennifer Soloway and everybody at Andrea Brown Literary Agency. I feel like I have a whole other big, strong family at my back.

Thank you Maggie Stiefvater and Brenna Yovanoff: not only for your insight and critique, but also your friendship. Our careers are so different seven years later, but it never feels that way when we’re together. (SEVEN YEARS! OOOO_oooo)

Thank you family: your support, jokes, encouragement, dinners at Ponaks, and random, crazy text messages mean everything.

Thank you Jim Thomas: working with you changed how I write. And thank you everyone at Random House Kids for being gracious and passionate no matter what. Especially Mallory Loehr, Jenna Lettice, Nicole de las Heras, and Michelle Nagler.

Thank you Saundra Mitchell for your patience and skills. I love this cover – you really brought out the heart-feels of Astrid’s book.

Thank you Rebecca Coffindaffer for your copy editing prowess. I only STETed about 10% of your thoughtful suggestions.

Thank you to all the librarians and booksellers who’ve oooed and ahhhed when I pitched USAsgard, and then put my books into readers’ hands. Especially I have to thank every librarian in Texas, the Johnson County Library system, and Cheri and Acia at Mysteryscape Bookstore in Overland Park, KS.

And finally, thanks so much to the friends and peers and people I admire (usually from afar) who came to my aid directly or indirectly last year: Lydia Ash, Chris McKitterick, Michelle Krys, Myra McEntire, Tara Hudson, Josie Angelini, Amy Plum, Anna Carey, Robin Murphy, Stephanie Burgis, Kate Johnston, Ruth Steven, Amy Parker, Emma Higinbotham, Chandra Rooney, Kim Welchons, Christie Holland, Julie Murphy, Bethany Hagen, Sarah Henning, Amanda Sellet, Wendy Conover, Julie Tollefson, Wendy Renee Ahdieh, Gretchen McNeil, Andrew Karre, Robin LaFevers, Courtney Stevens, Kate Elliot, Rachel Hawkins, Sonia Gensler, Dawn Metcalf, R.J. Anderson, Victoria Schwab, Rae Carson, Dot Hutchinson, Lisa Mantchev, Rachel Bellavia, Nova Ren Suma, Christa Desir, Jodi Meadows, Carrie Mesrobian, Leigh Bardugo, CJ Redwine, Jackson Pearce, Malinda Lo, Stephanie Winkelhake, Kiersten White, Beth Revis, Amber Lough, Suzy Capozzi, Miriam Weinberg, Victoria Scott, Kaz Mahoney, Carrie Ryan. You reached out, you comforted, you gave me hard truths, you read for me, you poured me a drink, you laughed at me, you commiserated, or you merely sent me a well-timed tweet. It all helped. Readers make publishing worthwhile, but y’all make this job the best in the world.

The Lost Sun
, Book One

The Strange Maid
, Book Two

Gold Runner: A Novella of Goblins, Theft, and Teenage Gods

The Apple Throne
, Book Three

Lady Berserk: A Novella of Dragons, Trickster Gods, and Reality TV

Glory’s Teeth: A Novella of Hungry Girls and the End of the World

The Weight of Stars: The Novella Collection

Blood Magic,
Book One

The Blood Keeper,
Book Two

With Maggie Stiefvater and Brenna Yovanoff:

The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories

TESSA GRATTON has wanted to be a paleontologist or a wizard since she was seven. She was too impatient to hunt dinosaurs, but is still searching for someone to teach her magic. After traveling the world with her military family, she acquired a BA (and the important parts of an MA) in gender studies, and then settled down in Kansas with her partner, her cats, and her mutant dog. She is the author of The Blood Journals series and The United States of Asgard series, including
The Lost Sun, The Strange Maid,
and
The Apple Throne
, as well as novellas
Gold Runner, Lady Berserk,
and
Glory’s Teeth
. Active on both Twitter (@tessagratton) and Tumblr (
tessagratton.tumblr.com
), she can also be easily reached at her website,
TessaGratton.com
.