The crowd goes wild for the strikingly beautiful cover designed by David DeWitt with amazing art by Little Corvus. It’s been an absolute honor to have David and Teo create all three of my covers, and they nail it every single time. Teo, you are an unbelievably talented artist. Allison Michael Orenstein, thank you for making me look so dang handsome in my author photos.

HarperCollins, take a bow! Thank you for employing me for sixteen years and publishing two of my books. You have made my life better every day. Thanks to the sales team (best in the world!), I will always be house proud. All my love and appreciation to every person and department working hard to bring beautiful and important books to the world. I always know I have the smartest and most wonderful people working on my books. I miss working beside you and have endless gratitude for what you have done for me.

I could not cheer loud enough for all the booksellers and librarians out there. I admire everything about you and what you do. You are the true heroes! Your support and friendships have been the unexpected surprise of being an author.

The crowd is on their feet for my editor, Andrew Eliopulos. Thank you for helping me navigate this story. You are a genius. I am rooting for you on your next chapter in life and am immensely lucky I got to work with you on two books. Thank you, Rosemary Brosnan, the coolest person at HarperCollins. Thank you, Bria Ragin, Laura Harshberger, and Jackie Hornberger and Jenny Moles. And to Alyssa Miele, my new editor, it’s already been a joy to team up. You are thoughtful and smart and I can’t wait for our time together.

Here comes the big finish. Everyone on stage locks hands and takes a bow together. The audience is on their feet and louder than ever. The stage is filled with so many people—everyone I mentioned and everyone I forgot. Thank you for making this book happen. I couldn’t have done it without you. After the final bow, we hug, maybe cry, then head backstage to hug and cry some more. We are sad because it’s over, but proud of what we created, and ready to do it all again tomorrow.

About the Author

Photo by Allison Michael Orenstein

TOBLY McSMITH is the co-creator/writer of eight somewhat successful musical parodies, including Friends! The Musical Parody (New York, North American Tour, Vegas Residence). Tobly is also the author of Stay Gold, his debut novel. This is his second. Tobly was born in Texas. He now lives in New York City with his two cats, Bam-Bam and Bananas McSmith. Tobly is proud to be transgender.

Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

Books by Tobly McSmith

Stay Gold

Act Cool

Back Ad

DISCOVER

your next favorite read

MEET

new authors to love

WIN

free books

SHARE