As always, I must thank my parents first, who continue to love and support me through life. I would never be here without them, and they are the foundation everything I make is built on. My brother will recognize many things in this book and probably pick out their exact inspirations better than anyone else. I look forward to your thoughts, Andy. I hope to hear them in person. To Granddad George, I love you and I’ll see you soon. To my extended family of cousins, aunts, and uncles, too many to name, thank you for your continued support and constant love.
I’m lucky to have another family out here in California, comprised of many, many friends who have stuck together through the strange decade after college. I am so grateful for this circle. And while many things change, we haven’t, for better or worse.
I never imagined having friends like Morgan, Tori, and Jen, my dearest girls, who build me up and break me down in every way I need. I feel truly lucky to have all three of you and don’t know what I did to deserve your love. As Morgan read the first draft of Red Queen, Tori was the first to finish Realm Breaker. Her immediate response was my first breath of relief. Someone liked this book. I did my job. I can’t wait to be under the same moon with you all again.
My love and thanks to Jordan, for seeing me through this. I’m glad I share the moon with you.
Once again, I have to write a quick thank-you to my sunbeam of a puppy, Indy. I carry no shame for writing my dog into my acknowledgments and never will. We almost lost her during the course of this book, and every second more is a gift.
Few people get to have colleagues like mine, who not only became valued friends, but are incredibly talented role models to look up to and poorly emulate. I will not list them all, because it feels like bragging. But I must thank my Patties—Susan, Alex, and Leigh—for their friendship, advice, humor, and commiseration. Soman, whose shadow I am overjoyed to live in. Jenny and Morgan, I’ll meet you in Paris. Emma, we’re in the trenches together and I hope we always will be. And Sabaa, my constant through this strange journey.
I’m glad to have many swords and shields in this industry, because you need many. Sharpest of all is Suzie Townsend, who continues to cut through the world so I can forge my path. All my love and thanks to her and the rest of the New Leaf team, who somehow manage to be both the best and kindest people in the business. To Pouya, Jo, Meredith, Hilary, Veronica—I hope I never get to stop thanking you all. An extra thank-you to Dani, without whom we would all be headless chickens. I could never forget my shield, also known as my lawyer, Steve Younger.
Once again, my name is on a book published by HarperCollins, and I could not be prouder of what we’ve made together. I’m so privileged to be able to work with Alice Jerman and Erica Sussman and hope for many more collaborations. Thank you for giving me the room to bring this story to life. And thank you to the countless, tireless, incredible copy edit team who somehow managed to keep track of everything when I couldn’t. Alexandra and Karen, thank you. I always look forward to your style sheets, but this one most of all. Thank you to the Harper marketing magicians, the Epic Reads mavens, the publicity artists—Ebony, Sabrina, Michael, Tyler, Shannon, Jennifer, Anna, and so many more who somehow manage to make something a cave person scratched up into a shiny thing people want in their homes. A special thank-you goes out to my cover designers, who have done so well by me all these years and continue to knock it out of the park. Thank you to Alison, Catherine, and Jenna for making Realm Breaker so stunning.
Another thank-you to my sensitivity readers, who were so thoughtful and encouraging, and deepened this new world in ways I could not fathom.
My deepest thanks goes to you readers and bloggers and teachers and librarians and booksellers, to anyone who holds a book and passes it on, or eats it up. Stories cannot live without you. Thank you for giving life to anything I might briefly carry.
This is the part where I should list my inspirations, but there are far too many watersheds for this river. I will only thank J. R. R. Tolkien here, for throwing me into Middle-earth, for giving me so much—and yet so little. For making me want. For making me hungry.
I’m grateful my grandmothers were able to see me published, and while they aren’t with me anymore, I hope this story is with them, somehow.
My love to you all,
Victoria