Hexomancy (25 page)
Drake took a breath, and nodded. “I presume you have supplies?”
“Boy, do I,” Ree said, reaching over to her bedside table drawer.
Behind those doors, Ree and Drake laughed and kissed and talked and celebrated making it through another adventure.
That day, Ree had lost a mentor and a sometimes friend, regained her mother, and taken several steps forward with her partner, her partner in every single way.
Falling asleep with Drake’s arms around her, pleasantly entangled and disheveled, Ree found more peace than she’d had in years, with two big question marks in her life replaced by exclamation points of joy.
The next afternoon,
after more amorous distractions, and a long, long shower to wash off the week’s pains, she picked up her phone and called Grognard.
He picked up on the first ring.
Almost like he was waiting for the call, or something
,
she thought.
“Yep?” Grognard asked.
Ree smiled. “I’m in. Let’s rock this joint.”
Acknowledgments
Three novels and a novella later, here we are at the end of the first major arc of the Ree Reyes series. There’s more to Ree’s story yet to come, somewhere down the road.
Hexomancy
is an ending, but not The Ending.
It’s strange to think that as of writing this, it’s been only four and a half years since I started working on
Distraction: The Novel
, over Thanksgiving while Meg was studying.
Distraction: The Novel
soon came to be known as
Geekomancy
, and would launch my career as a novelist. Ree has grown as a character as I’ve grown as a writer, and I think that
Hexomancy
is our best story yet.
And that’s all because of the help I’ve had along the way, from readers, fellow writers, my editor and agent, and many more.
Here are a few specific shout-outs to people who made a substantial difference for this latest novel:
A Muppet-flail of appreciation to Mary Robinette Kowal and my fellow classmates in the “Writing on the Fast Track” class I took in fall of 2013. That class unlocked nothing less than a revolution in process for me. Most of the time, it takes me between three and six months to write a first draft of a novel. I wrote the rough for
Hexomancy
in a month and a day, thanks to having a stronger, richer outline and applying the focus techniques from the class. Mary has also done me the great honor of serving as the voice of the Ree Reyes series for two novels and a novella in audio form, bringing her mad chops (technical term) to the series.
And while I’m giving out productivity props, big thanks to Rachel Aaron for her productivity-hacking essay/book
2K to 10K: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love
, which helped round out ideas from Mary’s class. Metrics, man, metrics.
A massive w00t of gratitude to Beth Cato for detailed notes and insights.
Muchas gracias
to Enrique Bertran for his assistance in helping me with Puerto Rican Spanish, all the better to represent Ree’s cultural and linguistic heritage.
Geeky cheers for a job well done to Sara Megibow, the Agent of Awesomeness, for helping me shape my career as it grows over the years.
A hearty Wookiee yowl of appreciation to my editor, Adam Wilson, for going with the flow when I called an audible to change gears, and for always challenging me to dig deeper, to enrich the world and its wacky magicks.
Meg, my partner in life and love. The best possible first reader, expert analyzer of character, she of the mighty laser eyes. If Meg weren’t such a hard worker, this whole series might not exist.
And to you, dear reader. Ree’s tale is not yet done, but she’s gotten this far because of your time and love. Because you read and enjoyed the books and told your friends. You have my deepest gratitude. If you keep reading them, I’ll keep writing them. Deal?
Baltimore, Maryland
April 2015
About the Author
MICHAEL R. UNDERWOOD is the author of
Geekomancy
,
Celebromancy
,
Attack the Geek
,
Shield and Crocus
, and
The
Younger Gods
. By day, he’s the North American Sales & Marketing Manager for Angry Robot Books. Mike grew up devouring stories in all forms, from comics to video games, tabletop RPGs, movies, and books. He has a BA in Creative Mythology and East Asian Studies and an MA in Folklore Studies. Mike has been a bookseller, a barista, a game store cashwrap monkey, and an independent publishers’ representative. Mike lives in Baltimore with his fiancée, an ever-growing library, and a super-team of dinosaur figurines and stuffed animals. He is also a co-host on the Hugo-nominated
Skiffy and Fanty Show
. In his rapidly vanishing free time, Mike studies historical martial arts and makes homemade pizza. He blogs at
MichaelRUnderwood.com/blog
and tweets
@MikeRUnderwood
.
FOR MORE ON THIS AUTHOR:
authors.simonandschuster.com/Michael-R-Underwood
MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT
Also by Michael R. Underwood
Geekomancy
Celebromancy
Attack the Geek
Younger Gods
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright 2015 by Michael R. Underwood
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First Pocket Star Books ebook edition September 2015
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ISBN 978-1-4767-5781-0
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