by Rena Barron
I followed her gaze to Zeran. He didn’t seem to notice her as he strolled down the hall with the others. She couldn’t have meant what I thought—that Zeran would betray me. I remembered when his father, Commander Rovey, told him to stop me from escaping. There was a moment that he had looked like he almost would. I realized something then that I hadn’t put together before now. Captain Nulan. Commander Rovey. The darkbringer who could make illusions. The ones who’d snuck into the human world in disguises. The Lord of Shadows’ real strength lay with the people who carried out his orders. Without them, he’d be powerless.
Zeran glanced back and smiled, and I could’ve sworn he had a dark gleam in his eyes. I pushed the thought out of my head. Tisha Thomas was wrong, wasn’t she? Zeran wouldn’t betray us, unless that was the plan from the moment we entered the Dark. Win our trust and undermine our efforts to stop the veil from failing. Distract and divide.
The Lord of Shadows was always two steps ahead of us, but had I unknowingly brought back a spy to our neighborhood? One who would do anything to help start a war? I cracked my knuckles as I trailed behind Zeran. I knew one thing for sure: the battle to stop the Lord of Shadows and save the human world was far from over.
Acknowledgments
In Maya and the Return of the Godlings, our heroine has the support of her family, friends, and community throughout her journey. By the same token, I couldn’t have written her story without the support, love, and encouragement from the people in my life. Always thankful to my mother, who read my first manuscript and called me up to rave about it to my absolute delight. Those early days of encouragement helped me get through the doubt and rejection that every writer faces. To my brothers, yes, I’ll admit it, I’m the weird one in the family. There, I said it. Thanks for your love and support.
To Cyril for listening to me read random excerpts from Maya and the Return of the Godlings and my sporadic outbursts of laughter while writing. Thank you for your patience and your support during the ups and downs, both professionally and personally. You’re there for the good writing days and the bad ones. Your dedication to your passion inspires me to never give up on my dream. When I’m so deep in the writing cave that I lose my way, you remind me to come up for air.
To my literary agent, Suzie Townsend, thank you for your encouragement and support. You are a tireless advocate and talented strategist, and I am thankful to have you on my team. Thanks to Joanna Volpe, New Leaf Literary Agency’s fearless leader and mastermind. To Pouya Shahbazian, the best film agent in the known world and my go-to person for the latest on the best movies. To Veronica Grijalva, Victoria Henderson, and Mia Roman for shopping Maya in the international markets. To Meredith Barnes for your wealth of advice and strategy. To Dani, who is always on top of everything. To Hilary, Joe, Madhuri, Cassandra, and Kelsey, thank you for your support.
To my amazing editor, Emilia Rhodes at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. I am always thankful for your thoughtfulness, sharp eyes, and support. I am lucky to have you in my corner. Thank you for giving me a platform to explore myself through these pages and tell a fun adventure story centering on Black kids, which I never saw when I was growing up.
I am so lucky to have a great team who supports Maya at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Thank you to Zoe Del Mar for heading up marketing and Tara Shanahan for publicity. Your work is so key to making sure that people know about the book and getting it into young readers’ hands. To Andrea Miller and the design team who came up with the amazing cover concept for Maya. To Elizabeth Agyemang, Mary Magrisso, Samantha Bertschmann, Ana Deboo, Annie Lubinsky, and Emily Andrukaitis. To Lisa DiSarro, Amanda Acevedo, Taylor McBroom, and the school and library team, I owe you my sincerest gratitude.
Again, so much respect to cover artist Geneva Bowers. You really brought Maya, Frankie, and Eli to life with your beautiful work.
To Mickey Mouse connoisseur Ronni Davis. You continue to amaze me with your energy, kindness, friendship, and humor. Thanks for being there for all the ups and downs and for introducing me to Sephora. It’s always fun to talk about stories and characters with you, and a million other things.
To my ride-or-die friend and critique partner, Alexis Henderson. I am in awe of how incredibly talented you are. Thank you for your unrivaled support and our brainstorming sessions. Your enthusiasm and encouragement have been a lifeline.
To my writing family: Samira, Gloria, Lizzie, Ronni (hi again!), Reese, Mia, Lane, Rosaria, Ebony, Cathy, Nancy, Irene, Nevien, and honorary members Anna and Kat.To the Speculators: David S., Antra, Nikki, Axie, David M., Nikki, Liz, Erin, Alex, Helen, and Amanda. You bring so much joy into the world. David Slayton, you are such an inspiration, and we would definitely have writing meetups if you didn’t live so far away.
Thank you to the countless others who have offered me encouragement and support throughout the years.
The biggest thanks to the booksellers and librarians for championing Maya and the Return of the Godlings. And to the readers who’ve championed my books and sent me nice messages, thank you for everything. I owe so much to Mrs. Okeke. Her passion for literature helped me realize that a Black girl like me could tell stories too.
About the Author
Author photo by Aaron Gang Photography, Chicago, IL
RENA BARRON grew up in small-town Alabama where stories of magic and adventure sparked her imagination. After penning her first awful poem in middle school, she graduated to writing short stories and novels by high school. Rena loves all things science fiction, ghosts, and superheroes. She’s a self-proclaimed space nerd. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading or brushing up on her French.
Follow her at renabarron.com
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