The Last Bridge (27 page)
Authors: Teri Coyne
Alex looked back at the book and got to the end of the second page and turned it to a blank one. “Ahh … tell me how it ends,” he said, as Addison opened the car door for me.
“I can’t. It’s your story now.”
Writing this book has been one of the great adventures of my life. I am truly grateful to everyone who helped me along the way, including those cited here and others I am sure to forget. Thanks to my agent, Jean Naggar, and everyone on her team at the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, Inc. In addition to believing in Cat and helping this story find a home, she has been a gentle and encouraging guide into the world of publishing. Thanks to my editors, Jane von Mehren and Porscha Burke, who brought great passion and care to the story and helped me find its final shape, and to everyone at Random House who has worked hard to bring this story to you. Special thanks to all the readers over the years, including those in writing groups and workshops, and to Ivone DeOliveira for her proofreading help. Thanks to Christie Cox for dropping everything and helping me with copyedits, and for believing so fiercely in the book; to Lester and Harvey Pyle, who showed me life on a farm; to Gwyn Cready, for always believing my stories (even the one about being cloned); to my brother Patrick, who took a chance and read an American author; to Beth, Sara, Caroline, and Emily Coyne and Sophia and Giuseppe Scorcia, for their love and support; to Gina, Marc, Christopher, and Matthew Meha-lakes for sharing their lives with me and giving me a beautiful place to write. Thanks to my sister, Tami, for her unwavering and unconditional faith in me; to Donna Alleluia for her friendship; to Catherine Racette for listening; to Frank Polistena for his support; and to Laura Josephs for her guidance.
Finally, a special thanks to the women survivors who gifted me with their stories. I am in awe of their courage and fortitude.
T
ERI
C
OYNE
is an alumna of New York University. In addition to writing fiction, Teri wrote and performed stand-up comedy for many years.
The Last Bridge
is her first novel. She divides her time between New York City and the North Fork of Long Island. Visit her website at
www.tericoyne.com
.
The Last Bridge
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2009 by Teri Coyne
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
B
ALLANTINE
and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
eISBN: 978-0-345-51705-0
v3.0