Vivian Apple Needs a Miracle (35 page)

For the first time in I can't remember how long, I have a question on the tip of my tongue for which there is no definite answer. It is all fear and all promise, as wide open as the highways that wait for us. When Harp stands upright, and Peter turns to me, his eyes bright with anticipation, I try to hold my laughter at bay long enough to ask it:

“Where do you want to go now?”

I am so grateful to my fantastic agent, Sarah Burnes; my wise editor, Margaret Raymo, my thoughtful copyeditor, Karen Sherman, my tireless publicist, Rachel Wasdyke, and everyone at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Emily Thomas, Jenny Jacoby, Jan Bielecki, Ruth Logan, and my friends at Hot Key Books; Salvatore Pane and Manjula Martin for reading the first draft with such intelligence and care; the rest of my indispensable San Francisco writing group—Melissa Chandler, Kate Garklavs, Melissa Graeber, Brandon Petry, Arianna Stern, plus members emeritus Phillip Britton and Denise Morrow—for weekly smarts, jokes, encouragement, and inspirational devotion to the blood moon; my Harp, Alice Yorke, and the rest of my friends and family for their support, free promotion, and use of their names—especially Kimberly Townsend, Lizz Tooher, Corinne Brenner, Caitlin Landuyt, and Rachel Fershleiser, Queen of the Bookternet.

Thank you to my husband, Kevin Tassini, who makes all things possible and lets me steal his ideas. And most of all, thank you to my parents, the kindest and most supportive people in the world, who are absolutely nothing like Vivian Apple's parents.

K
ATIE
C
OYLE
grew up in Fair Haven, New Jersey, and has an MFA in fiction from the University of Pittsburgh. She lives in San Francisco with her husband. Follow Katie online:
katiecoyle.com
or on Twitter:
@krcoyle
.