Blue Asylum (30 page)

This book would not be possible without the following people who willed it into being: Henry Dunow, rock star agent and friend; Wendy Owen; and Jenna Johnson of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, editor extraordinaire, whose faith in this novel was unwavering from the very beginning.

My mother, Polly Hepinstall, as always lent her incredible eye for detail in going over the manuscript and finding countless small mistakes. I’d also like to thank Bird Weston, Betty Anholdt, Jenny Evans, Simon Mainwaring, Johnathan Wilber, Michele Wilhite, Rachel Johnson, Jess Vacek, Ed Godwin, Lynn Branecky, Barbara Wood, Julie Thompson, Michaela Sullivan, Adrienne Brodeur, Tim Hanrahan, Cai Emmons, Deborah Morrison, Lisa Glover, Ayesha Mirza, Summer Smith, Melinda Kanipe, Sheri Peddy, Greg Byrnes and Kelly Beck-Byrnes, Dallas Jones, Darcie Burrell, Milo, and Sandy Jordan.

Susan Hoffman and Mark Fitzloff at Wieden and Kennedy were very generous with their support during the rewriting of this novel.

Certain story lines, characters, and scenes were made possible by the imagination and research of my sister, Becky Hepinstall Hilliker. She will have her reward in graduate school or heaven, whichever comes first.

Ro, key’s in the wall.