“I see you! Hi there, handsome,” I say to Tucker.
He leans over the fence to kiss me, taking my face between his hands, the plain gold band on his finger cool against my cheek. Then he steps back and drops his head for a minute, his eyes closed in a way I’ve come to be familiar with over the years. I put my hand on his shoulder.
“You okay? Another vision?” I ask.
He glances up at me, grins. “Yes, I’m having a vision,” he says with a laugh in his voice. “I’m having a vision that I just know is going to come true.”
“And what’s that?” I ask him.
“We’re going to be happy, Carrots,” he says, tucking a strand of my flyaway hair behind my ear. “That’s all.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
And now I’ve come to the end of a long road, and there are so many people to thank.
My first big thanks goes to Katherine Fausset. Best. Agent. Ever. You were my pillar of sanity this time around. Thank you for brainstorming sessions, for chocolate chip cookies, for standing by me through the laugh-filled ups and the tear-filled downs, and for always fighting for me. I am so very glad to have you in my corner.
Thank you to my trio of amazing editors, starting with Farrin Jacobs, for believing in Clara and her story from the rough little first draft of Unearthly. I will miss the blue pencil. Thanks to Catherine Wallace, who was with me every step of the way on this journey, quietly asking all the tough questions that would make my book so much better. And a huge thanks to Erica Sussman, my last-minute hero. I can’t express what your enthusiasm, your smart ideas, and your quirky sense of humor meant to me at this stage in the game. I can’t wait to work together again!
Thanks to the rest of the team at HarperTeen: Mary Ann Zissimos, my publicist, who I’m just going to go ahead and thank in advance this time around, Sasha Illingworth, who created such a gorgeous set of covers that people could not help but pick them up, and all of those awesome people who’ve been so supportive from the beginning, including Kate Jackson, Susan Katz, Christina Colangelo, Melinda Weigel, Cara Petrus, and Sarah Kaufman.
I also would like to thank the people who helped me explore and research my northern California setting, starting with my dear friend Wendy Johnston, who chauffeured me to signings and tried out strange pizza and wrangled my kids so I could sneak pictures of a tattoo parlor. Not to mention all the other ways that you are the epitome of a good friend, better than any character I could make up. And I’m sorry all the Wendy scenes keep getting cut….
I owe a big thanks to Keith Ekiss, for helping me find resources at Stanford, and an even bigger thanks to Estela Go, the awesome student who walked me all around campus, didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow when I wanted to excessively photograph the laundry room, and answered my hours (oh yes, hours!) of questions. Clara got to experience Band Run and eat Tater Tots and run up to the Dish because of you! Also, thank you to Dayo Mitchell, the dorm advisor at Roble, for helping me understand how one might approach Clara’s undecided-ness and Angela’s delicate situation. Clara’s life at the Farm blossomed after I spent some time with all of you.