The Dead-Tossed Waves (49 page)

During the writing of this book I’ve been lucky to meet some very amazing writers who’ve grown into amazing friends. Thanks to the 2009 Debutantes, Gothic Girls, Team Castle and especially my “Writing Group”: Saundra Mitchell (who was willing to read and critique at any hour), Sarah MacLean, Heidi Kling, Aprilynne Pike, Sarah Rees Brennan, RJ Anderson and Sarah Cross. Thanks also to Diana Peterfreund, a truly fantastic friend and critique partner, Justine Larbalestier and Holly Black for giving me the chance to expand this world and my voice, and Ally Carter for one particular phone call in which she gave me the most perfect advice.

Without Kris Finlon, I’d still be trying to figure out critical details of the plot. Thanks also to: Shea Mucci for giving me insight into the effects of a forest fire, Dennis and the crew at 300 East for sharing all the celebrations and excitement, Darren Cassese and Kymm for the author photos, and Madeira James for the gorgeous online presence.

I never know how to adequately thank my family because their love and support can never be summed up easily. Their enthusiasm for my writing is without bounds and constantly thrills, amazes and humbles me. Thanks to Bobby and Doug Kidd for letting me borrow their romance; to my father, Tony Ryan, for car rides when he helped me work through plot details and for always supporting my imagination; to my sisters, Jenny Sell and Chris Warnick, for being early readers (and for not
being able to put the manuscript down while cooking dinner)—I tear up thinking about how lucky I am to be your baby sister. Also thanks to the Davis family for supporting and loving me as if I’d always been one of their own (and for accepting a daughter-in-law who brings zombies to the family). Finally, as always, to John Parke Davis. Stephen King once said that every author writes for one reader. JP is that reader.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, Carrie Ryan is a graduate of Williams College and Duke University School of Law. She now lives and writes in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Dead-Tossed Waves
is her second book for young readers. Look for
The Forest of Hands and Teeth
, the companion title, available from Delacorte Press.

To learn more about Carrie Ryan, please visit her at
www.carrieryan.com
.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright ©2010 by Carrie Ryan.

All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

Delacorte Press is a registered trademark and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

www.randomhouse.com/teens
Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ryan, Carrie.
  The dead-tossed waves / Carrie Ryan. — 1st ed.
   p. cm.
  Summary: Gabry lives a quiet life in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, hemmed in by the dead who hunger for the living, but her mother Mary’s secrets, a cult of religious zealots who worship the dead, and a stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry threaten to destroy her world.
eISBN: 978-0-375-89542-5
[1. Horror stories. 2. Fantasy.] I. Title.
PZ7.R9478De 2010 [Fic]—dc22 2009030113

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