God help me, I didn’t know the half of it.
So now I’m composing this final piece at the tail end of 2020. Truly, this year has been an unparalleled horror show in many wild and terrible ways. But for me, it has also been a time of unexpected professional and creative growth. All things being equal, I suppose, I’ve weathered it as well as could be expected.
But I didn’t do it alone. I couldn’t have done it alone.
That said, I’m always reluctant to compose acknowledgments and thanks for a book—not because I don’t have plenty of folks to thank for their support, but because I live in fear of leaving someone out. As you might imagine, this clashes badly with my corresponding (and well justified!) fear of endlessly repeating myself.
With this in mind, please bear with me.
First, I send big ups and undying thanks to my agent, Stacia Decker—who believed in this book, even when I was afraid that maybe I should just stick to airships and ghosts. I am immensely grateful for all her help and guidance; I’m new to her stable of authors, but she’s made me feel welcome and valued at every turn. Likewise, a whole ocean of thanks to editor Kaitlin Olson—who beat this book into shape and shined it up like whoa. I’ve been so thrilled with her support and clarity! These two women are a whole new team for me, and it’s been nothing short of a joy to work with them both.
Next, the usual thanks go to my husband—J. Aric Annear—who pays most of the bills these days and plays Dog Valet while I’m trying to work. (Do you want inside? Do you want outside? Put that down! Drop it! Oh my God, what are you eating…? What’s this on the rug? Oh no. Oh no.)
Finally, for now at least, I must thank my Intergalactic Tipsy Lady-Friends in the secret Slack group of unconditional support. Everyone should be so lucky to have such cheerleaders in their corner, especially in times like these.
About the Author
Cherie Priest is the author of two dozen books and novellas, most recently the Southern horror project The Toll and haunted house thriller The Family Plot—as well as the hit young adult project I Am Princess X and its follow-up, The Agony House. But she is perhaps best known for the steampunk pulp adventures of the Clockwork Century, beginning with Boneshaker. She has been nominated for the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award, and the Locus Award—which she won with Boneshaker.
Cherie has also written a number of urban fantasy titles and composed pieces (large and small) for George R. R. Martin’s shared world universe, the Wild Cards. Her short stories and nonfiction articles have appeared in such fine publications as Weird Tales, Publishers Weekly, and numerous anthologies—and her books have been translated into nine languages in eleven countries.
Although she was born in Florida on the day Jimmy Hoffa disappeared, for the last twenty years Cherie has largely divided her time between Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Seattle, Washington—where she presently lives with her husband and a menagerie of exceedingly photogenic pets.
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ALSO BY CHERIE PRIEST
The Toll
Brimstone
The Family Plot
Chapelwood
Jacaranda
Maplecroft
Fiddlehead
The Inexplicables
Ganymede
Dreadnought
Clementine
Boneshaker
Bloodshot
Hellbent
Not Flesh Nor Feathers
Wings to the Kingdom
Four and Twenty Blackbirds
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Copyright © 2021 by Cherie Priest
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First Atria Books hardcover edition October 2021
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Interior design by Kyoko Watanabe
Author photograph by Libby Bulloff
Illustration of Woman By Adobe Stock
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Priest, Cherie, author.
Title: Grave reservations / Cherie Priest.
Description: First Atria Books hardcover edition. | New York : Atria, 2021.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020051866 | ISBN 9781982168896 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781982168902 (paperback) | ISBN 9781982168919 (ebook)
Classification: LCC PS3616.R537 F36 2016 | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020051866
ISBN 978-1-9821-6889-6
ISBN 978-1-9821-6891-9 (ebook)