Stuck in Neutral (11 page)

Stacie Wachholz helped with
every
aspect of this project; editorially, from the earliest drafts on, her literary judgment was invariably correct. Stacie continues to work with me and help me (a special thanks to her children, Eric and Kati, for letting me steal so much of their mom's time).

There are many friends to thank for contributing to the making of this story, including Leslie Yach and her family and Ginger Ninde. Among writer friends, Michael Gurian and Kevin Gilmore gave thorough, very helpful readings early in the project. Chris Crutcher, Becky Davis, and especially Terry Davis (The Godfather of Y.A. literature in the Inland Northwest) helped tremendously, too. Mark Stimpfle's suggestions and proofreading were worth much more than the steak dinner he got at the Wolf Lodge Inn. Many thanks to my writing teachers over the years: Kay Keyes, Nelson Bentley, Robert Sund, John Keeble, Jim McAuley, and Ursula Hegi.

Antonia Markiet, my editor at HarperCollins, spent hundreds of hours helping me write this story; Ms. Markiet's editorial brilliance and generosity made our collaboration both fun and gratifying. George Nicholson, my agent, in addition to taking care of me in this business better than anybody else could have, has become a good friend. Thanks also to Traci Jersen, Michelle Gladden, and Jade Chan.

So many of my students and colleagues at Spokane Falls Community College were generous with their time and feedback. Among my many students who read this manuscript, I'd like to mention Sherri Fulton, Kei Iwamoto, Brandi Parker, James Barlos, and Sister Mary Eucharista for their contributions. Apologies to all the dozens of other students not named here but who also helped—you know who you are!

For those of you who have been inadvertently left off this list, please forgive me. You know how much you helped. Thank you for making this story possible.

S
ince the preceding acknowledgments section
was written for
Stuck in Neutral'
s initial, hardbound edition, we have had amazing good fortune. There are too many reviewers, critics, newspapers, conference coordinators, TV and radio hosts, bookstores, and other sources of generosity to thank individually, so even though this group thank-you feels inadequate, time and space make it necessary. A few individuals—good friends to the book, my family, and me—must be singled out:

Thanks to Sherry and Frank Knott. Thanks to Jenny and Sonja Egger, Edward and Mary Averett, the Trevy Family, and Tina Cronin and family. Thanks to my many colleagues and friends at ESD 101's Step-Star Network and to all my students. Thanks also to Dan Webster at the Spokesman Review for his early and ongoing support and to my friends at Family Tree Production, especially Craig T. Nelson, Paul, Noah, and Dusty (and to Bob Cole).

At Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc.: Jody Hotchkiss, Elet Howe, and Nancy Alexander. At HarperCollins, for the fabulous cover of the book: Nick Krenitsky, Cliff Neilsen, and Carla Weise. Also at HC: Pat Buckley, Bill Morris, Catherine Balkin, Casey Burchby, Carrie Klusacek, Stephen Fraser, Jennifer Weiss, and Josette Kurey.

Thanks to all my friends at Hodder-Stoughton, UK. Thanks to Lori Eldridge for her early work on our web page. Thanks to Tyson Soth and Pat Kennedy of Photografx for their present management of the web page. Thanks also to Kelly Milner-Halls.

—Terry Trueman

Terry Trueman

grew up in the northern suburbs of Seattle, Washington. He attended the University of Washington, where he received his BA in creative writing. He also has an MS in applied psychology and an MFA in creative writing, both from Eastern Washington University.

Terry is also the author of
CRUISE CONTROL
, a companion novel to
STUCK IN NEUTRAL
and the sequel
LIFE HAPPENS NEXT
;
HURRICANE
;
7 DAYS AT THE HOT CORNER
;
NO RIGHT TURN
; and
INSIDE OUT
. You can visit Terry online at www.terrytrueman.com, on Twitter, and on the Terry Trueman Fan Page on Facebook.

S
ome writers invent a story and their characters
, making us believe in the world they've imagined. Other stories are based on “real” events that a writer has lived through.

Stuck in Neutral
is neither one nor the other but a blend of both types. While I invented Shawn's world and made up all the things that happen, I also based what I wrote on my being the parent of a kid like Shawn, my son Henry Sheehan Trueman.

Sheehan is perceived very much the way Shawn is seen by the people in this story—that is, as incapable of learning or understanding much of anything. Sheehan, like Shawn, has cerebral palsy, cannot communicate at all, and has been diagnosed as being profoundly developmentally disabled. He is often called retarded, a retardate, or even worse, a retard.

In writing
Stuck in Neutral,
I wanted to invent a character, and how the world might be for that character, based on what life might be like for my son Sheehan. Is Sheehan a secret genius, like Shawn in this story? Does he like potato chips and rock and roll? Inside himself is he witty and funny and wise? Is he happy to be alive?

I can't say “yes” to any of these questions. But I can't say “no” either. All anybody can honestly say is “I don't know”—none of us really does.

STUCK IN NEUTRAL

FAQs about Terry Trueman

Cool Trivia Shawn Bets You Don't Know!

Shawn's iPod Playlist and Movie Queue

An Interview with Terry Trueman on His Other Books

Read an Excerpt from the Sequel,
Life Happens Next

Terry Trueman: When I talk about
Stuck in Neutral
, it's often to groups of high school and middle school audiences, and when you tell a room full of seventh graders that they can ask you any question they want to ask … they WILL!!! Here they are, starting at number ten and ending at the number one most asked question:

10. Do you live in a mansion?

No, not a mansion. But I do live in a nice house with a view—you know, ponderosa pines, whitetail deer grazing nearby, a mountain or two, lots of sky.

9. What do you do for fun?

I LOVE to write. If I could keep my marriage together and be sane, I'd write twenty-four hours a day. But even I need a break once in a while, so I like to have coffee in the morning, write most of the day but go out to lunch with a small group of friends, have a refreshing beverage or two in the afternoon, and watch T.V. until sleepy-bye time; then start that routine all over again the next day. Oh, yeah, I also like to drive my Corvette too fast and go shopping at Costco, where I race my shopping cart at 149 mph through the aisles.

8. How much money do you make?

Your concern for my financial well-being is deeply appreciated and very touching, but my accountant is in perfect health and only he and the I.R.S. have any reason for knowing how much money I'm making.

Alternative number 8: Where do you get your ideas for your books?

I know that there are writers out there who love to fantasize about the life of an alien worm, but my ideas all come from life experiences, not necessarily first-hand ones, but things close enough to be able to imagine a realistic story. Ideas are never a challenge or a problem. Figuring out how to best approach those ideas with characters, a strong story, and a meaningful message—that's the tough part.

7. What's the best advice you can give to an aspiring writer?