The Van Alen Legacy

The Blue Bloods books are the most fun and rewarding books to write, and I wouldn’t be able to write them without the help, love, support, patience, and devotion of many people. First off , thank you to my husband, Mike Johnston, for reading all the same books I did as a teen. My name is on the front cover, but these books are ours together, in every possible way. Thank you to Mattie for being the light of our lives. None of this would mean anything without the two of you, but you guys already know that.

Thank you to my lovely editor, Jennifer Besser, for being such a champion of the books and for gasping on the phone about the Bliss chapters. Yay! And thank you to everyone at Hyperion: Go, team! Thank you to Jennifer Corcoran for the fabulous publicity, Nellie Kurtzman and Ann Dye for the awesome marketing plans, Elizabeth Clark for the gorgeous covers, and Jonathan Yaged for the faith, Simon Tasker and Dave Epstein from the sales force (a true force to behold!). Thank you to my agent, Richard Abate, for keeping me focused and for the above-and-beyond hand-holding. Thank you to Elizabeth Yates, Melissa Myers, and Richie Kern at Endeavor, and Kate Lee and Larissa Silva at ICM.

Thank you to my mom, to whom this book is dedicated, especially for saying, “The books are so exciting. I forget that you had written them!” Now THAT’s a compliment from your mom! Thank you also to the rest of my wonderful, fabulous, and infinitely supportive family: Pop, Aina, Steve, Nicholas, Joseph, Chit, Christina (most of whom run the promotion/Web/fan mail side of the business with a lot of good humor and ideas). Also thanks to Mom J, Dad J, and all the Johnstons. A big thank-you to Tita Odette, Isabelle and Christina Gaisano. (There, you can show it to all your friends now, Tina!)

Thank you to my BFF, Jennie Kim, who always likes to be mentioned in these things. ( Jennie, you can show this off too. Heh-heh.) And thanks to my NY and LA main girls and main gays Katie Davis, Tina Hay, Tom Dolby and Drew Frist, Gabe Sandoval, Tristan Ashby and Jeff Chu, Tyler Rollins and Jason Lundy, Andy Goffe and Jeff Levin, Peter Edmonston and Mark Hidgen, Kate and Harold Hope, and the ever-cool Kim DeMarco.

I would also like to thank the late Miss Jean Murphy, who taught history and art history at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, and who brought the world of ancient Rome to life in a dusty classroom. Miss Murphy always said it was like history’s greatest soap opera. I know she’s up there with the greats.

Most of all I would like to thank the Blue Blood faithful, just the most amazing, enthusiastic, intelligent, and gorgeous bunch of kids I have ever met. (I mean it: I am always so blown away by how smart AND good-looking you all are!) Thank you for bringing my story of the reincarnated vampires into your lives. Thanks for following the journey, and hope to see you at the next stop!





Keep reading for a preview of The Ring and the Crown, the first book in Melissa de la Cruz's exciting new series!





The streets of London were so much more crowded than she remembered. It was as if everything in the city had multiplied. The buildings were taller and closer together, rows of red brick houses next to the new tall, skinny, cement ones with slate roofs; and there were so many people jostling on the sidewalk, elbow to elbow, shoulder against shoulder, a great army of pedestrians marching purposefully to who-knows-where. For a moment, she felt claustrophobic and trapped; lost, adrift, and alone in a sea of humanity. Her senses were assaulted from every direction: smokestacks belching into the gray sky, newsboys yelling the headlines, the salty-tangy smell of fried fish from the sidewalk vendors. It had only been four years since she’d left the city, but it felt like four decades, and Aelwyn Myrddyn stood in the middle of it all, clutching tightly the battered leather valise that contained all she had in the world. The bag was heavy with bottles of herbs, tonics, and potions from Avalon.

“All right, miss?” the driver asked, tipping his hat in her direction.

She hesitated for the briefest moment, feeling a pang in her heart. She thought of Viviane waving a solemn good-bye from the shore, her golden hair shining through the mist. For a moment, Aelwyn wondered if she had made the right decision in returning to the city of her childhood. When Aelwyn had turned sixteen, Viviane had told her that it was time to determine her fate. Magic users had two options when they came of age: to join the invisible orders, or to choose exile in Avalon.