The Strange Maid

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I’D LIKE TO thank everybody who’s still my friend after the writing of this book. I swear, it won’t happen again.

Most especially I want to thank my editor, Jim Thomas, for not giving up on me. I know I made your life exponentially harder for a few months in 2013.

Thanks to everybody at Random House: Michelle Nagler, Nicole de las Heras, Mallory Loehr, and especially Jenna Lettice for all the legwork; Aisha Cloud, Rachel Feld, Nora MacDonald, and the publicity and marketing teams; and Tracy Lerner and everybody in library marketing. (Paul Samuelson and Mary Van Akin, I hope it wasn’t me who drove you away! You were so great to work with.) Jennifer Prior and Alison Kolani for their painstaking detailed work. I am constantly blown away by the things you all do for my stories.

My agent, Laura Rennert, I wouldn’t have succeeded without your dedication and faith in what I was trying to do.

Maggie Stiefvater, we survived!!!!

Brenna Yovanoff, knowing you got over your revision PTSD helped me keep pushing.

Myra McEntire, xo​xo​xo​xo​xo​xo​xo​xo​xo​xo​xo​xo​xo give me your moonshine.

Stephanie Burgis, I wouldn’t have climbed back on my horse without you.

Tara Hudson, Sonia Gensler, Josie Angelini, Anna Carey, Amy Plum, Julie Murphy, Rae Carson, Kate Johnston, Chris Kennedy, Emily Kennedy, Robin Murphy, Lydia Ash, and everybody who listened and nodded and filled up my wineglass.

My entire family: thank you for only gently rolling your eyes as I worked on this book at Disney World.

And Natalie, you lived it with me, what can I even say? I don’t deserve you.