For a long time, the storyteller reads and rereads these words, thinking of hands held in the darkness, a blade of grass clutched between them.
He flips forward again. Gone is the packed, precise script now. Instead, these pages are filled with an untidy scrawl, the hand uneven, the text often smudged to the point of being illegible, just a series of cloudy, coal-black shapes.
It takes him some time, but finally, the storyteller finds a blank page, as yet untouched by his messy hand.
With morning on the way, and the next chapter of the story with it, the storyteller pushes the coal across the page, mouthing the words as he writes them, the same ones he has been writing since Before became After, filling page after page of this endless book with the same question.
Kindred, are you there?
He stares at the words for the rest of the night, waiting in the stillness for a miracle.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I asked my three-year-old daughter how to best thank the people who helped make my dream come true, and she said, “Say thanks with your whole heart, Dad.”
So, with my whole heart, thank you to:
Alexander, best of agents, whose advice and encouragement took this book from zero to hero. Thanks for taking a chance on me.
Leah and Craig, editors extraordinaire, who saw a future for this book and helped me see it, too. And thanks to the teams at DAW and Titan. Writing might be a solitary task, but publishing is a team effort, and I’m grateful for the teams of superheroes who worked on this book with me.
Shecky, comma conjurer and syntax sorcerer, who put everything in its right and proper place.
Marc Simonetti, who took the prairie in my head and made it into the brilliant US cover. And Julia Lloyd, who designed a UK cover so cool that I forgot for a moment it was mine and just wanted to read that book. I don’t know how I got lucky enough to hit the cover jackpot twice with The Forever Sea, but I did; no takebacks.
My MFA mentors, especially Cass Dalglish, who told me to just keep writing, and Lindsay Starck, who gave me what every writer needs: cheese curds and a glimpse of what my story could be.
My fellow MFA students, especially Andrea, who made those residencies worth it.
Benny, who gave me encouragement and writing music recommendations in equal measure.
Janet and Dave Ericksen, who took me out on their sailboat and even let me take a turn at the helm for a few terrifying minutes. Dave also helped with much of the sailing terminology and know-how for this book, and any remaining nautical mistakes are completely my own.
My creative writing students over the years, who have taught me far more about telling stories than I could ever offer in return.
My Odyssey ’16 classmates. Our critique circle taught me so much about giving, getting, and using feedback. We’ll always have Elijahcorn.
Dan and Mike, for the whiteboard session.
Jeanne Cavelos, best of readers, who showed me how stories work and helped me through the trials.
Mary Robinette Kowal, who, over some whiskey sipped from a flask, asked me what story I really wanted to write and then gave me permission to do just that.
The Tomatoes: Richard, purveyor of fine teas, fine worldbuilding, and fine stories; Pablo, kindred spirit and fellow lover of the weird; Linden, non-stop doer of the amazing; Jeremy, good person and good friend; RK, all-caps friend, who did so much for me and this book; Farah, forever frenemy, haver of true strength, and giver of the best pep talks.
My family: Agnes, joy monster. I started this book before you were born, and I can’t imagine it existing without you now. And Rachel, my partner and best friend. Thanks for helping me see the simple things.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joshua Phillip Johnson lives in a little green house on what used to be the prairie with his partner and their child. His work has appeared in Syntax & Salt, The Future Fire, and Metaphorosis Magazine, among others. He teaches at a small liberal arts university. The Forever Sea is his first novel.
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