The Smoky Corridor

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK …

My fantastic wife, J.J., who got to spend her summer vacation watching me do rewrites.

My dad, the late Thomas A. Grabenstein, who used to take us to Civil War battlefields in the 1960s and let my four brothers and me re-create entire battles in our heads.

My mom, who just happens to be my biggest fan.

My nephews Timothy John and Samuel Justus Grabenstein, for making sure their uncle’s stories aren’t boring.

My agent, Eric Myers.

Emily Pourciau, Lisa McClatchey, Nicole de las Heras, and everyone at Random House.

Sarah Abercrombie from Greenwich Country Day School in Connecticut, who showed me around their incredible campus.

The folks at JOE and Starbucks, who let me write in their coffee shops.

All the Morkal-Williamses, who not only give me great early reader critiques but also let me turn their names into characters in my books.

Rachel Curcio, Kate and Mary John, Nora Kaye, Rodman John Myers, Riley Mack, Anna Bloomfield True, Jemma Glenn Wixson, and all the kids, students, teachers, and librarians who help me write these stories and then tell all their friends to read ’em.

Finally, Zipper would like to thank Fred, who helps me write the dog bits.