First, I want to thank my wonderful agent, Sharon Pelletier, for her incredible vision for this book and her help in getting it there. It is a dream come true to work with you. To my editor, Danielle Dieterich: thank you for taking a chance on me and Jo, and for your heavy lifting in sculpting this novel. To my team at Putnam—Ivan Held, Sally Kim, Brennin Cummings, Alexis Welby, Monica Cordova, and Erika Verbeck—thank you for making this experience even better than I dreamed it would be. And another huge thank you to Kristina Moore for taking this book places I’d barely let myself dream it might go.

To my Otis College cohort, thank you for all your work in helping me bring this book to life, and in particular, Esther Lee, Heather John Fogarty, Krystle Statler, Kevin Thomas, Guy Bennett, Marisa Matarazzo, Jen Hofer, and Marisa Silver. A huge thank-you to Peter Gadol, who taught me so much about craft and who spent one very memorable afternoon storyboarding with me. It was one of the honors of my life to study with Paul Vangelisti, one of the great noir poets, who made grad school so much more fun than my future children will ever one day believe.

This book is inextricably linked with Olivia Batker Pritzker, who deserves a whole chapter of thanks. From Trader Sam’s Tiki Bar to sneaking into Disneyland (invaluable research into the art of the con!) to your unending patience for talking through every question and insecurity I threw at you (along with the multiple charts you drew), this book would not be the same without you.

It is not hyperbole to say this book would not exist without the loving editorial eye and support of Layne Fargo, who plucked me out of the Pitch Wars slush pile. Thank you for taking me and Jo in hand and helping me figure out exactly the right way to break the book to make it better. You are truly the fairy godmother of this book, and the best part of Pitch Wars is knowing you.

A huge thank-you to my loving family and friends, in particular, Samantha Omana, Tara Donohoe, and Leah and Lorraine Esturas-Pierson, the best cheerleaders a girl could ask for (and to Wilder Esturas-Pierson, who did not do very much cheerleading this time around, but I will let it slide). And finally, batting cleanup: my parents, Kim and Jeff Sutton, who never even once told me they thought it was a bad life plan to become a writer. Thank you for bribing me to read as a kid, and for nurturing and encouraging me as an adult. I love you very much.

The Lady Upstairs

Halley Sutton

DISCUSSION GUIDE

A CONVERSATION WITH HALLEY SUTTON

Discussion Guide