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Back Counting Down with You Save as PDF
Chapters (64)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. Praise
  4. Booklist
  5. Dedication
  6. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  7. Part 1
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. 7
  15. 8
  16. 9
  17. 10
  18. 11
  19. 12
  20. 13
  21. 14
  22. 15
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. Part 2
  28. 20
  29. 21
  30. 22
  31. 23
  32. 24
  33. 25
  34. 26
  35. 27
  36. 28
  37. 29
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. 32
  41. 33
  42. Part 3
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. 38
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. 42
  52. 43
  53. 44
  54. 45
  55. 46
  56. 47
  57. 48
  58. 49
  59. 50
  60. 51
  61. 52
  62. 53
  63. 54
  64. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Ten: Thunder shakes the world around us. I tremble, you glow. All I see is you.

Nine: I am not a princess. My hair grazes my waist. You scale an ivory tower.

Eight: Constellations tear through the sky. I am never lost. You are my true north.

Seven: The earth is cruel. It takes relentlessly. When I am unsteady, you ground me.

Six: Not every lock has a key. I am shackled. You learn to break chains.

Five: Bridges are meant to burn. You strike the match. I am a spark, a blaze, an inferno.

Four: My wings are crippled. Your touch is featherlight. I remember how to fly.

Three: I am buried in the dark. A lone candle flickers. Iridescent stars live in your eyes.

Two: My mind is elastic. It snaps. You mend the edges.

One: You love me. That will always be enough.

—counting down with you, k.m.a.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

*Taps mic* Testing, testing... Not to be crass, but to be a little crass: holy shit, bro. I never thought I’d be sitting here writing the acknowledgments for a real book. I always hoped, but it never seemed possible. Isn’t it wild when dreams come true?

I’d like to start by thanking you, the reader. Thank you for coming with me on Karina’s journey. We are both infinitely grateful for your time and support.

Going forward, I’d like to thank my agent, JL Stermer, for believing in this book and believing in me. Thank you for seeing Karina, and understanding why I wanted to tell this story. The world worked miracles to bring us together, and I’m grateful for it every day. You get my New Yorker heart more than anybody else! Here’s to more books (and pretzels!) in the future. And thank you to the rest of the team at New Leaf Literary—especially Suzie Townsend, who introduced me to JL.

Thank you to my former editor, Natashya Wilson, for taking a chance on Ace and Karina. Being with you on this journey has taught me so much, and I’m a better writer for it. You saw the heart of this book, and helped make it shine even brighter. Thank you to my current editor, Rebecca Kuss, for being so supportive of this book and loving it like it was your own acquisition. Your enthusiasm is appreciated beyond words, and I’m glad to have you along for the ride. Thank you to the rest of the Inkyard team, including Bess Braswell, Brittany Mitchell, Laura Gianino, and Linette Kim for cheering this book on and helping to bring it into the world with a bang! Thank you to Gigi Lau for designing the cover, and Samya Arif for the cover art. I’m absolutely in love with it!