To Kat Ellis for the above and much more—kindred spirits happen seldom, but when they happen, they happen true. I will be your friend, yes, but also your biggest fan. You are the yin to my writerly yang.
To the bloggers who have supported The Dead House and my work as a whole, Luna’s Little Library, Jim @yayeahyeah, and so many more, thank you endlessly. The UKYA community is amazing, and I am so glad to be a part of it.
Thank you to the authors whose works inspire me always: Juliet Marillier, Marcus Sedgwick, David Almond, Jacqueline Carey, Mark Z. Danielewski, Margaret Atwood, Courtney Summers, and more. Your words breed my own and ignite my imagination. THANK YOU.
To the authors I have met, who have welcomed me so warmly: Michael Grant (who led me down this writerly path when I was a wee thing, along with his brilliant wife, Kath Applegate), Victoria Schwab (my little evil unicorn), Carrie Ryan (who holds all the world at her brilliant fingertips!), Renée Ahdieh (the most beautiful lady I have seen, maybe ever—and whose lipstick choices are brilliant), James Dashner (hands down the second-funniest, second-nicest man I have met—the first being my hubby, of course!), Shaun David Hutchinson (best guy ever to have a hug from! Plus awesome taste in tattoos), and all the other fabulous authors I met in Chicago.
To the Little, Brown and Orion teams: I love being in the family—you are all so brilliant and have supported me and my little books beyond anything I could have imagined.
To those who have read and loved The Dead House—thank you so much! You’ve made a timid little writer very proud and happy. I hope that you love Silla as much as you did Kaitlyn. I certainly do.
Thank you, always.
Dawn Kurtagich
February 2016
North Wales