Newport: A Novel

To Elise and Sofia, my own personal angels

N
ewport
could not have been written without the support and talents of many people. I am grateful for each of them:

To Nora Frenkiel, Emily Levitt, Gwen Mahoney, Shawn Nocher, and Sherry Audette Morrow.
Newport
was born in your critique group, and thanks to your expertise and gift for clear-eyed reading, the story found its voice. To Sherry—who happens to be my sister-in-law—thank you for sharing your writing and editing skills above and beyond critique group. Why, who
wouldn’t
want to spend family holidays and events hashing out plot points and character issues? I appreciate your letting me borrow your credibility.

To Eva Kapitan, Gary Garth McCann, and Carolyn Sienkiewicz.
Newport
came to your critique group fully formed. Thank you for thoughtful comments and insights that allowed it to mature into a more cohesive work.

To Eliza Graham and Kristina Riggle, beta readers extraordinaire. Thank you for your willingness to fit complete reads of my manuscript into your own tight writing schedules. Kris, additional thanks for figuratively holding my hand whenever necessary, which occasionally meant several times a day.

To my agent, Ann Collette, whose love for this story allowed me to fall in love with it all over again. Thank you for believing in both
Newport
and me.

To my editor, Amanda Bergeron. Your enthusiasm for
Newport
was delightfully contagious, and your vision helped my dream become reality. What an absolute privilege to work with you and your team at HarperCollins!

To my parents, Roz and Stan Morrow. How I wish you were here to share this with me! I will always be grateful for your love and support, and for my memories of Mom with her nose in a book and Dad with the constant curiosity of a lifetime explorer.

To my daughters, Elise and Sofia, who have always believed in me more than I believe in myself and who make me happy and proud. You are among my greatest joys and the reason I do what I do.

And, finally, to Tom. We are very different from each other, yet somehow it works. Thank you for being my partner, my friend, and the love of my life. This book is all the more special to me because I can share it with you.