This Journal Belongs to Ratchet (20 page)

If only seeing your own life

The way you should

Were easy,

But it's not.

I wouldn't have spent

So much time

Wishing

Things were different.

I wouldn't have spent

So much time

Worrying

About not being normal.

I wouldn't have spent

So much time

Writing

About wanting something new.

I wanted the

White pages

And the cool, cardboard cover

To somehow change

“Something,”

But the only thing

That really needed to change

Was

The way

I thought

About

Me

And

My

Weird,

Wonderful

Life

With

Dad.

Authors are not supposed to use cliches, but I'm going to use one anyway: this book is my dream come true. My dream to publish a children's book began many years ago, and it would never have happened without some very important people.

To Esther Hershenhorn and Sharon Darrow, my very first writing teachers and friends who welcomed me into SCBWI and always willingly shared their knowledge and expertise, as well as their friendship.

To Patty Toht, Greg Daigle, Ruth VanderZee, Ellen Carroll, Darcy Zoells, and Michelle Schaub, my first critique group
—
wonderful writers and fantastic friends.

To Karen Palumbo, Sue LaNeve, Greg Neri, Mickey Davis, Madeleine Kuderick, Molli Nickell, and Karleen Tauszik, who were the first to see Ratchet and believe in her. Thank you for helping me figure out how to write this book and for becoming my new writing family in Florida.

To Holly Root, my agent, thank you for believing in me and my writing and not giving up when the going got long.

To Aubrey Poole, my editor, who always shared my excitement for Ratchet. Thank you for loving my book and working so hard with me to make it better.

To all the people at Sourcebooks, thank you for paying attention to every detail so that my book became something even better than what I had ever imagined it could be.

To Martha Alderson, whom I've never met, but whose books and DVDs about plot were invaluable. Thank you for all you taught me!

To my family and friends who supported me along the way and gave their encouragement even when they may have thought I was crazy to have kept trying for so long
—
thank you!

This book would not have happened without Ron and Chaylee, who cheered me on all the way. Thank you for being so proud!

Lastly, and most importantly, I thank the Good Lord for His unending grace and faithful blessings along the way.

Photo credit: Janet Nelson

Nancy J. Cavanaugh lives in Florida with her husband and her daughter. She spends her summers eating pizza in her former hometown of Chicago.
This Journal Belongs to Ratchet
is her first book, but she has been writing for almost twenty years.

Like her main character, Nancy is pretty handy with a ratchet and is able to take apart a small engine and put it back together. In addition to her mechanic's hat, Nancy has been an elementary and middle school teacher, as well as a school library media specialist. One of her favorite parts of writing for children is being able to say “I'm working” when reading middle grade novels. She hasn't read an adult book in years.

Visit her at
www.nancyjcavanaugh.com
.