The Waking Land

by Callie Bates

  For Grandpa Del.

  I wish I could put this book in your hands.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  A book is like an ecosystem: It needs nourishment from so many sources. I couldn’t have made this on my own.

  Thank you to my phenomenal editor, Anne Groell, not only for her humor and insight but for continuing to teach me so much about this craft. I can’t overstate my gratitude to my wonderful agent, Hannah Bowman, whose enthusiasm for this book still amazes me; without her encouragement to revise, this book would never have made its way into the world. My gratitude goes to the team who created the cover and interior design—Ben Perini, Kathleen Lynch, Diane Hobbing, and David Stevenson—for making this story’s wrappings look more beautiful than I could have imagined. Thank you also to the teams at Del Rey Books and Liza Dawson Associates, as well as my UK publisher, Hodder & Stoughton.

  My beta readers are superstars. Heaps of gratitude to Emily, whose belief in this book propelled me through to the end and gave me the confidence to send it back out into the world. Martha not only jumped on a plane for a writing conference with me and gave crucial feedback on a tight deadline, but has been a dear friend and wonderful writing buddy for fifteen years. Here’s to many more.

  Thank you to Vanessa and Jean-Marie for support and generous feedback through various drafts—but more than that, for being great friends. Additional thanks to Elizabeth, Michael, Andrea, and Sean for helping with the opening chapters.

  I’m lucky to have an amazing support group in my family, friends, and the local community. Thank you to everyone who has kept the faith, often unconditionally. In particular, enormous gratitude to my aunt Nancy and sister Eowyn. And a shout-out to my aunties Jean and Ann—look, now you’re in the book!

  Finally, I am so grateful to my parents for their unwavering belief and support, and for reading many drafts over many years. Also, for the record, this is what happens when you read your daughter The Lord of the Rings at age nine, then drag her into old-growth forests and nurture her desire to be a writer. Thank you both for everything.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  CALLIE BATES is a writer, harpist and certified harp therapist, sometime artist, and nature nerd. When she’s not creating, she’s hitting the trails or streets and exploring new places. She lives in the Upper Midwest.

  calliebates.com

  Facebook.com/​calliebywords

  @calliebywords

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