The Trouble With Destiny (24 page)

This book would not have been possible without the support of the Paper Lantern Lit team, especially Lexa Hillyer, Lauren Oliver, and the tireless effort of Angela Velez. Major thanks to Wendy Loggia at Delacorte Press and to the rest of the Random House Kids team, who make my books great and put them in front of readers. Thanks to my agent Stephen Barbara for always answering my “HELP!” emails, and to everyone at Foundry Lit + Media for their support.

My books would be nothing without their readers, young and old, near and far. You guys are an awesomely enthusiastic bunch, and I love hearing from you. You're the reason I do this! I also owe an incredible debt of gratitude to the booksellers, librarians, and teachers who share my books with young readers. Special shout-out to the Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, GA, my favorite indie in the whole wide world. Your store is magical, and I'm honored that you keep giving me a place in it.

And finally, thank you to my incredibly supportive family, who all own way too many copies of my books and who never hesitate to claim me as their own. But the biggest thank you of all goes to Adam. There aren't enough movies about swords or Dairy Queen Blizzards in the world to pay you back for all you do for me.

LAUREN MORRILL
grew up in Maryville, Tennessee, where she was a short-term Girl Scout, a (not-so) proud member of the marching band, and a troublemaking editor for the school newspaper. She graduated from Indiana University with a major in history and a minor in rock and roll and lives in Macon, Georgia, with her family and their dog, Lucy. When she's not writing, she spends a lot of hours on the track getting knocked around playing roller derby.

Visit Lauren at

laurenmorrill.com

Follow Lauren on Twitter
@LaurenEMorrill

Read Lauren's other novels:
Meant to Be
and
Being Sloane Jacobs