Firstly, to the incredible team at Tor Teen. To Devi Pillai, Fritz Foy, and Tom Doherty, for taking a chance on me and these books; to Isa Caban, Eileen Lawrence, Saraciea Fennell, Sarah Reidy, Lucille Rettino, and Anthony Parisi for coming up with the most inventive ways to find readers for this series, for putting on the best debut book tour I could have ever asked for, and for making me feel just as excited and celebrated when I was releasing my second book from a quarantined apartment; to Melanie Sanders, Steven Bucsok, and Kristin Temple for taking this story from a patchwork manuscript to a real and lovely book; to Victo Ngai, Sachin Teng, and Esther Kim for bringing my characters to vibrant life with the stunning covers that I get to look at each and every day.

To Ali Fisher, my brilliant editor who deserves an entire book of acknowledgments. I’ll never be able to express the depth of my gratitude for you and your brain. You make me a better writer with each and every note, make me smile with the reactions and Easter eggs you leave in copyedits, and always lead me to be more thoughtful about the stories and messages I’m putting out into the world. You have an Atypical ability all your own, and that’s the power to bring out the best in writers, to make them love their stories more, to challenge them with care and kindness, helping them grow. I feel absurdly lucky to have an editor who understands me, who knows what I’m trying to say better than I do, who will celebrate with me when my ships go canon and put Hannibal quotes in her notes. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

To Matthew Elbonk, who knew there was a book in me before I was brave enough to voice the desire to write one. I’ll never forget our first phone call—talking for an hour because we instantly connected, immediately resonating with the same kinds of stories. From putting the proposal for this trilogy together to helping me with my least favorite part (coming up with a title) to helping me navigate the wide world of publishing, it is the understatement of the century to say that I couldn’t have done this without you. You’re the best agent in the world, and I’m going to keep sending you my gay cowboy stories.

To my sensitivity readers, Ariane Resnick, Jon Reyes, and Melissa Vera—thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and perspective, and for helping me bring this set of characters to authentic life.