Winterfolk
Page 21
She smiles. “Of course.”
I hand a bracelet to Jessiebel and Matisse, then I give one to King.
He puts it on his wrist and pulls me up to stand. “This is good,” he says. “Real good. Tell them about us.”
“I’ll tell them about Hamlet’s drums,” I say. “And the dancing hamsters.”
King nods. “The squirrels, and the rats.”
“And Sabbath,” Jessiebel says, “and the one who comes.”
Matisse picks up her bag. “About the Winterfolk.”
“And home,” King says.
“Home.”
Where my Bruces and Evergreens cover the sky in their branches, and leave room for us to dream.
33
THE MORNING LIGHT IS tinted green. The cries of gulls sound above. They want to tell me about the ocean. But now I remember. About the night she walked into it and never came home.
Sometimes I still pretend I’m a ghost.
My kitten purrs at my belly, and I don’t pretend anymore. I reach under my pillow until I feel the solid cover of my book and pull it out. A notebook full of practice letters. As and Bs. And so on to Zs.
Today is the day. I turn to a clean page, and I write.
WINTERFOLK
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I always read the acknowledgments at the end of a book, because it reminds me how a community is required to get a story published, and that I’ll never be left on my own to complete such a task. Winterfolk is no exception.
First, I want to thank the Hamline community—Anne Ursu, for seeing a dream and showing me reality; Laura Ruby, for asking the questions that revealed the story’s heart; Jane Resh Thomas, Marsha Qualey, Kelly Easton, Claire Rudolf Murphy, and Gene Luen Yang, who read the first pages and gave me words of confidence that I would lean on throughout the writing process; Phyllis Root, who cheered and pushed me; Swati Avasthi, Jacqueline Briggs Martin, Emily Jenkins, Ron Koertge, Gary D. Schmidt, and Marsha Wilson Chall, whose lectures and workshops inspired me; my talented workshop buddies, who said all the right things; and my team of Hamsters—Andrew John, Eddy Giorgi, Elizabeth Aldridge, Kate Fitzgerald, Kristi Romo, Leah Hilsabeck-Lowrey, Meg Cannistra, Nikki Ericksen, Nina Bricko, Randy Bonser, Sarah Marie Eschweiler, and Sean Tulien—my strong partners in this writing dance.
I want to thank my agent, Beth Phelan at the Bent Agency, for seeing the potential in the story and taking a chance. It was with her instinct and care that this story became a book. I also want to thank my editor, Tara Weikum, for that beautiful word yes and challenging me to dig deeper and reach farther than I thought possible.
Thank you to the readers, editors, and copy editors at HarperCollins who constantly astounded me with their attention to detail. Also, a big thank-you to Sarah Nichole Kaufman, for designing the jacket of Winterfolk, and to Matt Saunders, the artist, who captured the solitude and solace of Winterfolk to perfection.
I was fortunate enough to receive strong encouragement about my writing at a young age from teachers, family, and friends. Thank you, Mom and Dad, Laurie, Melissa, Mike, Amanda, Missy, Daphne, and Soudie. Thank you, Nana, for passing on your love for reading, as well as your romance collection, and Grandma Kolby for passing on your love of words and talent in poetry.
Thank you to my husband, James, and my son, Bodi, for your endless hugs and bottomless patience. Thank you for loving and accepting this woman whose mind is always halfway in a story. I hope what’s left is enough.
Finally, thank you to the Eastside residents of Tent City 4. You answered my questions with open hearts and minds and taught me the difference between a shelter and a community.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JANEL KOLBY is a poet and story writer for teens and children. She is a graduate of Hamline University’s MFA program in writing for children and young adults and lives in Seattle with her family and the Sunny Arms community.
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BOOKS BY JANEL KOLBY
Winterfolk
CREDITS
COVER ART BY MATT SAUNDERS
COVER DESIGN BY SARAH NICHOLE KAUFMAN
COPYRIGHT
HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
WINTERFOLK. Copyright © 2018 by Janel Kolby. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2017949566
ISBN 978-0-06-248700-1
EPub Edition © February 2018 ISBN 9780062487667
17 18 19 20 21 PC/LSCH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
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