Wench

by Maxine Kaplan

Tanya touched the door, pushing it open.

  And there it was sitting on a dusty workbench. A block of wood, cut in the shape of a starburst.

  She walked over and picked it up, getting wet yellow paint on her fingers. But it was almost done. She had wanted it painted, not carved, so that she could grow into it. She wasn’t sure what it should say yet. Madame Moreagan had been right: She belonged in a tavern. But she didn’t just want to run a tavern; she was more ambitious than that now. She knew she wanted a library; she wanted to keep learning. She wanted to find new things. And she wanted to be useful.

  So, for right now, it said:

  The Quill

  FOOD * ROOMS * BOOKS * EPHEMERA

  She brushed it with her fingers and smiled.

  She was home.

  The End

  Acknowledgments

  The only thing I ever really wanted to do was tell stories. I’m therefore deeply grateful to continue to be allowed to do this.

  My heartfelt thanks have to begin with my brilliant and intuitive editor Maggie Lehrman, at Amulet Books, for her belief in this story and my ability to tell it. I’m extremely grateful to the designer Hana Anouk Nakamura for her gorgeous work and to the incomparable Will Staehle for this incredible cover design.

  Additionally, I want to acknowledge, with great appreciation, the hard and invaluable work of Marie Oishi, Shasta Clinch, Regina Castillo, Emily Daluga, Hallie Patterson, Jenny Choy, and the entire production team at Abrams.

  My agent, Ali McDonald, has been a stalwart source of support, comfort, and counsel—thank you, girl. And thank you to her erudite assistant Ella Russell for all her help and insight.

  I am very lucky to have the friendship and help of talented friends/writers, and want to particularly acknowledge Justin Brenneman, Allie Schwartz, Anna Hecker, Lindsay Champion, and Amber Lynn Natusch for their excellent notes, Kendall Kulper for her hospitality, and Derek Milman, Kit Frick, Anica Mrose Rissi, Katie Henry, Sarah Nicole Smetana, and Erin Callahan for vital conversations along the way. I also want to acknowledge here the entire Electric Eighteens community, for their unflagging support, good humor, and the real friendships I’ve found there—thank you for all the much-needed hugs, in person and virtual.

  Finally, I always have to thank Sophie Kaplan—who also gave me stellar notes but is mostly just a great sister. Thank you Brooke Gladstone (Mom), Fred Kaplan (Dad), and Ruth Pollock (Grandma) for all the love, support, and encouragement I could ever need.

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