by Betsy Uhrig
And how do I feel about calling 911? I haven’t had to do it since Great-Aunt Rosa broke her hip. But I feel like I could if I had to. Maybe doing it again took care of that fear. But I think it had more to do with finally telling someone what happened the first time.
It came out by accident. I brought Rosa some audiobooks in the hospital, and when I apologized for hesitating before I called 911 for her, I ended up describing my encounter with the police. I said that, looking back, the officers probably hadn’t meant to scare me. “Maybe I blew that up in my head,” I said.
“That’s possible,” she said. “You have a big imagination.”
“Are you kidding? I have no imagination,” I said. “Ask Javier.”
I’d never seen Aunt Rosa laugh before, but when she did, she reminded me of Javier. She almost fell out of bed. “Everyone has an imagination,” she said when she’d gotten ahold of herself.
I still do Caroline’s stunts, along with Marta, of course. (Alvin retired from stunts after the storm drain and is in charge of potions now—he prefers indoor work.) Marta, Javier, and I recently signed up for a daylong white-water-rafting course to help with Book 3’s Spewing Spume scene. Javier is looking forward to trying out his new waterproof camera.
I still haven’t gotten around to confessing to Caroline that my “imaginative details” for her books are based on actual stunts. I had planned to tell her after the end of Book 1, but then Book 2 came along, and now 3, and… I’ll tell her when she’s done with the whole series. Definitely then.
“But wait a minute,” you’re probably thinking. “Didn’t you say at the very beginning that you would rather dive into the back of a garbage truck with your mouth open than be famous? Why write a book like this if that’s true? Won’t this book make you famous as Gerald’s stunt double?”
My response to those excellent questions has two parts. First, there’s no way this book is going to make me famous. It’s not exactly R. R. Knight–level excitement, is it?
And second, my name’s not really Alex Harmon.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
THIS IS A BOOK ABOUT GETTING help writing a book, which makes the acknowledgments seem especially important. I’ll start at the beginning and hope for the best.
First thanks go to Karen and her voracious-reader niece, who generously (and inadvertently) gave me the idea for this book. And to Debbie, who had the faith to invite me, writing unseen, to her critique group.
Mere words can’t express my gratitude to the critique group, for being so welcoming and supportive, for laughing in the right places and pointing out the boring parts, and for introducing me to SCBWI. Many thanks to SCBWI New England, for all they do for aspiring writers and for introducing me to my agent. To my agent, Joan Paquette, for her quirky sense of humor and unflagging optimism and for introducing me to my editor. To my editor, Karen Wojtyla, for her aunt-appreciation and her expert wielding of the Red Pen of Inspiration.
A vortex of thanks to the rest of the gang at McElderry Books and Simon & Schuster: Nicole Fiorica, for her great ideas and expert guidance throughout the process; copyeditor Lynn Kavanaugh, for the oh-so-careful read and gentle reminders that hair grows; proofreader Mandy Veloso; managing editor Bridget Madsen; production manager Elizabeth Blake-Linn; designer Rebecca Syracuse; and publicist Chantal Gersch. Thanks as well to the amazing Linzie Hunter, for the perfect cover art and for putting my name in a zucchini.
A huge thank-you to my colleagues past and present, including but not limited to Ben, Debbie (again), Jayne, Karen (again), Linda, Mary, Mike, Pamela, Peg, and Peggy, for their friendship and gross stories and for discreetly not mentioning any errors they may spot herein.
Special thanks to Mom, Auntie Karen, Jon, Jennifer, Christina, Diana, Suze, Jay, Carter, and all the Fawcetts and Williamsons, for laughing with me and also sometimes at me, and for not acting too shocked about this whole turn of events. To Lisa, for obsessing about the same books I did and do; and to Mike, Ted, and Marshall, for off-beat clapping.
Finally and especially, unending thanks to Clara and Stephen, for filling my house with books and my heart with love.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BETSY UHRIG was born and raised in Greater Boston, where she lives with her family and way more books than you are picturing. She graduated from Smith College with a degree in English and has worked in publishing ever since. She writes books for children instead of doing things that aren’t as fun. Double the Danger and Zero Zucchini is her first novel. Normally she goes out of her way to avoid danger and has nothing against zucchini. Visit her at BetsyUhrig.com or on Twitter at @BetsyUhrig.
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Margaret K. McElderry Books
Simon & Schuster, New York
MARGARET K. McELDERRY BOOKS
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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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.
Text copyright © 2020 by Betsy Uhrig
Jacket illustration copyright © 2020 by Linzie Hunter
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Book design by Rebecca Syracuse
Jacket design by Rebecca Syracuse
Jacket illustrations copyright © 2020 by Linzie Hunter
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Uhrig, Betsy, author.
Title: Double the danger and zero zucchini / Betsy Uhrig.
Description: First edition. | New York : Margaret K. McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, 2020. | Audience: Ages 8–12. | Audience: Grades 4–6. | Summary: While brainstorming ideas to improve his aunt’s boring children’s book, 12-year-old Alex and his friends begin to act out new scenes that will make the plot more exciting… and dangerous.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020009407 (print) | ISBN 9781534467651 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781534467675 (eBook)
Subjects: LCSH: Books and reading—Juvenile fiction. | Authorship—Juvenile fiction. | Aunts—Juvenile fiction. | Friendship—Juvenile fiction. | Humorous stories. | CYAC: Books and reading—Ficton. | Authorship—Fiction. | Aunts—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | Humorous stories. | LCGFT: Humorous fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.U3 Do 2020 (print) | DDC 813.6 [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020009407