Dead Souls

by J. Lincoln Fenn

  I put a smile on my face. Press it there. “Bon appétit.”

  It is monstrous, what I’m about to do; yet it’s also strangely my finest, most selfless moment. Sublime, as Alejandro would say.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  BEFORE YOU PUBLISH your first book you have this concept of the writer alone, churning out magical pages that magically land in a bookstore, but the reality is that a book requires the hard work, input, and support of many.

  Thanks to my family I was fed and given the inordinate time needed to write. My husband was my rock during the rough patches, and my son a daily inspiration to keep going no matter how many wolves howled at the door.

  My champion of an agent, Jill Marr, saw the potential of fifteen pages I’d sent her, which evolved into a book proposal and then this book. I’m thrilled it landed in the Gallery Books family, and working with the insightful Ed Schlesinger has been a true pleasure.

  Finally I’d like to thank my readers, because without you this would just be an object sitting on a shelf in a room. Your imagination brings it to life and inspires me to continue.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  © Choyin Rangdrol

  J. LINCOLN FENN is the award-winning author of the bestseller Poe, which won the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award for Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror. Fenn grew up in New England and graduated summa cum laude from the University of New Hamp­shire, studying with poet laureate Charles Simic, and author John Yount, a mentor to John Irving. Currently Fenn lives with her husband in Seattle, where she’s at work on her next book.

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  ALSO BY J. LINCOLN FENN

  Poe

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  Gallery Books

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2016 by Nicole Beattie

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Gallery Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

  First Gallery Books trade paperback edition September 2016

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  Interior design by Davina Mock-Maniscalco

  Cover design by Richard Yoo

  Cover image © Mitchell Funk/Getty Images

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

  ISBN 978-1-5011-1093-1

  ISBN 978-1-5011-1094-8 (ebook)