Chapters (53)
- Front Cover
- Letter from the Author
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- • One •
- • Two •
- • Three •
- • Four •
- • Five •
- • Six •
- • Seven •
- • Eight •
- • Nine •
- • Ten •
- • Eleven •
- • Twelve •
- • Thirteen •
- • Fourteen •
- • Fifteen •
- • Sixteen •
- • Seventeen •
- • Eighteen •
- • Nineteen •
- • Twenty •
- • Twenty-One •
- • Twenty-Two •
- • Twenty-Three •
- • Twenty-Four •
- • Twenty-Five •
- • Twenty-Six •
- • Twenty-Seven •
- • Twenty-Eight •
- • Twenty-Nine •
- • Thirty •
- • Thirty-One •
- • Thirty-Two •
- • Thirty-Three •
- • Thirty-Four •
- • Thirty-Five •
- • Thirty-Six •
- • Thirty-Seven •
- • Thirty-Eight •
- • ∞ •
- • Thirty-Nine •
- • Forty •
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- Excerpt from Be Dazzled
- One
- Two
- About the Author
- Back Cover
First, I need to thank the LGBTQIAP+ community, both past and present, the countless queer people who boldly exist any way they can, who had to exist in order for someone like me to write a book like this. I am hyperaware that I write at the edge of a legacy created by people with far less than me, who had so much more to lose, and who fought anyway. I am incredibly proud and thankful to be part of this community. And it’s no mistake that Kane’s expression of salvation takes the form of a drag queen. Many might see Poesy as just a showy villain, but I see her as Kane does: power personified. I can’t thank the queens of my life enough for creating a world to which I could belong, being the wildly flamboyant child that I was (and still am). What I do, I do for us.
And, of course, my family, who I adore, and who have always surrounded me with grace, love, and humor. Dad, your sense of eccentricity and exploration (and the compulsion to bring back small souvenirs from each place) runs deep in this book. Mom and Larry, your choice to let me confront drag queens in the streets of Provincetown has had lasting ramifications. Blase, David, Julia, Shoko, and Colin, thanks for putting up with all my antics. I love you all!
To my agent, Veronica Park, for her endless humor, savviness, and smarts. I can’t imagine any of this without you at the start of it. And to Beth Phelan and the whole #DVpit crew. Best origin story ever.
To Annie Berger, my dauntless and amazing editor, and to the entire Sourcebooks Fire team, including Sarah Kasman, Cassie Gutman, Todd Stocke, Beth Oleniczak, and Heather Moore. And, of course, a special thank-you to Nicole Hower, who designed a cover so magnificent that I cannot wait to have it embroidered upon a floor-length cape, and to the super-talented cover artist, Leo Nickolls, and to Danielle McNaughton, who made the inside of this book feel like home. And thank you to my publisher, Dominique Raccah. Working with the entire Sourcebooks Fire team has been, pun fully intended, a dream come true.
I have been lucky enough to make some fantastic friends in the book world, too. To my darling cherubs: Phil Stamper, Claribel Ortega, Kosoko Jackson, Shannon Doleski, Adam Sass, Caleb Roehrig, Kevin Savoie, Zoraida Córdova, Jackson MacKenzie, Mark O’Brien, Gabe Jae, and so many others. THANK YOU for all the support, advice, and well-earned shade. And to Brandon Taylor, who snapped me out of some bad doubt. I owe you.