by Lani Forbes
Many descriptions of Xibalba also include a council place of the Lords of Xibalba. The Lords loved to humiliate human visitors by creating realistic mannequins of themselves to confuse them or by tricking them into sitting on a hot cooking surface. The main Lord of the Dead can go by many names, as Mayana and Ahkin mention when they are trying to identify which mannequin is his true form. There are also aspects I incorporated from Mictlan, the Mexican version of the underworld, including the throne made of jade bones and the trial of playing a conch shell with no holes. In Mictlan, the number nine is significant and some of the levels include mountains that crash, bodies that hang like banners, wind that cuts like knives, and jaguars that devour your heart. Like Mayana and Ahkin with Ona, many spirits that descend into Mictlan are aided in their journey by a spiritual guide dog.
I hope the story has inspired your curiosity to learn more about the ancient civilizations and cultures of South and Central America. As always, I encourage you to do your own research too! A great place to start is Handbook to Life in the Aztec World by Manuel Aguilar-Moreno or national museums such as the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City.
Acknowledgments
I first want to thank my readers. I have been blown away by how many of you fell in love with Mayana and Ahkin’s story in The Seventh Sun. I hope book two was able to deepen that love before the heart-wrenching conclusion waiting for you in the final book of the trilogy!
A huge thank-you to everyone who played a role in bringing The Jade Bones to life. So much work goes into creating a book, and I know I couldn’t have done this without you. Samantha Wekstein, I’m still in awe that I am lucky enough to have you for an agent. Thank you for believing in this story and being my guide through the (under)world of publishing. I’m certain I’d be stuck wandering endless winding paths of confusion without you and the rest of the team at Thompson Literary! To Betsy Mitchell, Courtney Vatis, and Kathryn Zentgraf—you polished this story into the gem that it is. Your enthusiasm and passion for the story has helped me hold on to my own when I forgot to look up and see the light filtering down through the clouds overhead. Thank you to the entire Blackstone team for championing this series. To Josie Woodbridge, Lauren Maturo, Jeffrey Yamaguchi, Mandy Earles, Rick Bleiweiss, and everyone else at Blackstone Publishing, I was so fortunate to have you all working alongside me to bring this series into the world, and your support and partnership has been priceless!
An author never operates in isolation, so I absolutely want to thank all of my family, friends, critique partners, and early readers for lending me your perspectives, your hearts, and your time. There are honestly too many names to list, so please know that I love each and every one of you so much. You know exactly who you are!