To the rest of the team at Simon & Schuster both in Canada and the US—as with Kings, my experience has been smooth, collaborative, and joyful. Thank you to all those in marketing, publicity, and sales for being incredibly important pieces to this complicated puzzle. Special shout-outs to Chelsea Morgan and their eagle-eyed squad of editors for their careful attention to detail. To Sarah Creech for designing yet another beautiful cover and to Rik Lee, who brought my trifecta of powerful humans to life in his art. And special, special shout-out to my Canadian super-publicist, Mackenzie Croft. Mackenzie, I feel like we’ve been internet dating for the past year and a half and I couldn’t have asked for a better long-distance, literary relationship! Thank you for your enthusiasm, love for both Kings and Bruised, and, of course, all those exclamation points… just! Like! Joe!

To my beta-readers—Joanne Darrell Herbert, Ly Hoang, Christy Dunsmore, Tammy Do, and Alannah Safnuk—thank you for your ongoing support of me and my writing. Thank you for your always thoughtful, honest comments. I cherish each of you for your feedback and for your friendship.

To my “roller derby” readers—Aldera “Dazzler” Chisholm, Diana “Fireweed” Savage, Nicola “Legal Chaos” Doughty, and Saoirse “Finn-Atomic” McDonald-Lepur—thank you for your generous feedback on the ins and outs of this incredible sport. Your suggestions and corrections were invaluable and I hope I’ve done roller derby justice! Thanks also to Christina “Kill a Blockingbird” King, Nicole Terry, and Christina Nicole “Double Slammiato” Kendall for their added insight into this incredible sport.

Speaking of roller derby, huge thanks to the Rolla Skate Club in Vancouver, BC (rollaskateclub.com), whose goal it is to change the narrative around women, power, and sports and who are providing so many incredible ways to do that. They and Roller Girl (rollergirl.ca) served as constant inspirations throughout my writing process. Special thanks to Lucy Croysdill (aka LuluDemon) for providing such important context to modern roller derby for this book. Additional research materials for Bruised included Rollergirl, by Melissa “Melicious” Joulwan, United Skates (directed and written by Tina Brown and Dyana Winkler), and Blood on the Flat Track: The Rise of the Rat City Rollergirls (directed by Lainy Bagwell and Lacey Leavitt), plus numerous hilarious, scary, informative, and awe-inspiring YouTube videos. I’m way too big a baby to play roller derby, but it’s an exceptional sport and demands some serious respect.

Writing about teenage experiences requires a special kind of care, and writing about death and self-harm even more so. I am blessed with some of the most skilled and committed counselors and educators in my life. Thank you to Joanne, Ly, and Nicola (again), and to Haley Jacobs for making sure I held Daya’s grief, pain, and growth with thoughtfulness and accuracy.