A tremendous thank-you to my agent, Sarah Burnes, for her relentless belief in this book and her all-caps enthusiasm and insistence that we get it RIGHT. This book would not be in the world if it wasn’t for you. To my editor and soul sister, Kieran Viola, who thought the most important thing was maintaining my voice. I am constantly astounded by how excellent you are at doing yours and how willing and supportive you are of letting me do mine. This book would not be any good if it wasn’t for you.
To my copyediting team for making sure all my trains ran correctly, my publicity and marketing team for being so pumped to get this book out into the world, and especially to Marci Senders for creating a cover so wonderful, I can no longer imagine the book without it. Also, to Ellen Goodlett, who read more early drafts than is humane. To Rose Costello, whose enthusiasm for a middle draft provided the oomph to finish. And to Julie Schiena, who read one late draft and knew all the right fixes. This book would not have such good bones without all of you.
To my inner circle of women who have provided shoulders, ears, and sanity along this entire journey. Christine, Anne, Julie, and Cyr, I am eternally indebted to you. Thank you to Rick Purcell for his smashing legal advice. Also a huge arigato, y’all!, to our vast Short Grain crew for making the two years it took this book to pub the most thrilling of my life. And to my broader Buffalo, Brooklyn, and Charleston contingent of support, there are too many names to list, but I hope you all know who you are, because I do and I couldn’t have done this without (venting to) you. This book would not have any soul without all of you.
I can’t say it often or well enough, but thank you to my mom, for her constant loving encouragement and for infusing me with her passion for the written word. (And for being muy amable about all my last minute “will you read this??” requests.) I wouldn’t be me without you. Also many thanks to my dad for all those preorders and my stepdad for catching the overflow of stress I send Mom’s way. To my sister Amanda for reading an early draft and saying “We’re gonna be rich!” And to my sister Annie for being my favorite sounding board and most enthusiastic promoter. And lastly, to my husband and partner in shenanigans, Shuai. You, sir, make life fun, even when it isn’t. Thank you for loving me even at my most teary and for unknowingly schooling me in how to write an adorable good-guy character. This book would not have any heart without you.
CORRIE WANG owns and operates the award-winning untraditional Japanese food truck Short Grain. She is passionate about libraries, road trips, and eating all the food, everywhere. Corrie grew up in Buffalo, New York, but spent her formative years in Brooklyn, where one of her last paying gigs was managing a three-story nightclub on the Lower East Side. She and her husband, Shuai, currently live in Charleston, South Carolina, with their pup, Moose. The Takedown is Corrie’s debut novel. You can find her online at www.corriewang.com.