A Difficult Boy

by M. P. Barker

  Thanks to Florence and Paul Muller-Reed for their constant and relentless encouragement and for making me write five pages a week, whether or not I felt like it. If my writing group comrades made me start the story, it was Flo and Paul who made me finish it.

  Thanks to my agent, William Reiss of John Hawkins and Associates, for giving Ethan and Daniel a second chance. And thanks to my editor, Regina Griffin, for giving Ethan and Daniel a home, and to Assistant Editor Leanna Petronella for picking up where Regina left off.

  A huge thank-you to Carol Munro, for friendship, cheerleading, continuity checking, helpful criticism, and diligent (and unpaid) editorial advice. Carol, I owe you big-time!

  Thanks to Dennis Picard, historian extraordinaire, for saving me from anachronisms, illegal and improbable plot twists, and other historical faux pas. If I’ve made any errors, it’s in spite of his help, not because of it.

  Thanks to Thomas Moriarty and George Bresnahan for providing Irish translations.

  Thanks to my early readers, who endured the telephone book–sized version: Dru Bronson-Geoffroy, Pat Cahill, Marlissa Carrion, Chris Creelman, Chris DeFilippis, John and Jo Ellis-Monaghan, Stan and Nancy Graziano, Fran Holland (thanks also to Fran for proofreading), Jessica Holland, Margaret Humberston, Judith Jaeger, Patti Millette, E. Catherine Tobler, and the Skarzynski clan—Terri, Jim, Cindy, and Stan. Thanks, of course, to my parents, Joseph and Rhea Plourde; my siblings, Rosemarie Plourde Buxton and Christopher Plourde; my Aunt Theresa and Uncle Joe Chevalier; and my husband, Joe, who had to read it because they’re related to me.

  Thanks to the PEN New England Children’s Book Caucus for recognizing A Difficult Boy with the 2003 Discovery Award. Special thanks to Nancy Hope Wilson of PEN New England for advice and encouragement. And thanks to Jessica Holland for nagging me into entering the PEN competition in the first place. Thanks also to Jessica for encouragement, enthusiasm, timely nagging, and revisional inspiration, and to her writing group members Marlena Zapf and Kristin Kladstrup for helpful comments and long-distance support even though they’ve never met me.

  Thanks to the University of Southern Maine’s 2001 Stonecoast Summer Writers’ Conference, where the manuscript first met strangers’ eyes and, miraculously, did not crash and burn. Dennis Lehane and Karen Joy Fowler, both wonderful teachers, were inspirations. Remembering their words of encouragement kept me from giving up when things looked bleak. Thanks to fellow Stonecoasters for encouragement and lots of constructive criticism.

  Thanks to Judith Jaeger for encouragement and advice on shameless self-promotion.

  Thanks to the research libraries at Old Sturbridge Village, Mystic Seaport Museum, and the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum (where I’ve been archivist for the past eleven years). Thanks especially to CVHM, since it was coming across a document in the archives that inspired the story. Special thanks to Margaret Humberston, head of library and archives (and the best boss I’ve ever had), for flexible scheduling, encouragement, and extremely large blocks of chocolate.

  Most important of all, thanks to Mom and Dad for giving me a passion for books.