Angel Fire (66 page)
“Okay, enough,” said Alex finally. He turned us both around so that we were facing the mountains to the north. “Look that way instead,” he said, his voice firm. “That’s the way we’re going.”
The view was clear, uncluttered, and something in me eased. Somehow, looking at the soaring mountains with the sunrise on them made me able to breathe again. Alex was right. We couldn’t live our lives looking back – no matter what, we had to move forward to whatever waited for us. Alex and me, Seb, Sam, Liz, whoever else we managed to recruit – we all had to keep moving forward, or else we were lost.
After a long time, I cleared my throat. “So anyway, when we get to Nevada...I think we should rethink your dad’s rule.”
Alex glanced down at me and smiled – the first real smile I’d seen on his face in a long time. “You know what? It’s already been rethought and completely ditched,” he said. And he wrapped his arms around me and we stood looking up at the mountains, with the rising rays of the sun lighting them from the east.
A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Angel Fire
was a book that, at times, I really didn’t think was going to get written.
During the writing of the first book in the trilogy,
Angel
, the fictional world I’d envisaged grew and changed; so did my perceptions of the characters. This meant that although books two and three had been planned out in some detail, by the time I reached the end of
Angel
I realized that a lot of my ideas about those books weren’t really valid any more.
So, even though he’s fictional, my first and most heartfelt thanks must go to Seb. When he suddenly appeared out of nowhere – this former street kid and thief who’s so in love with Willow, and who, not incidentally, is another half-angel – I knew I’d found the spark that would propel not only this story, but the next one too. The sheer relief of that day is something any writer will understand. Thank you,
querido
.
Thanks are also due to:
Linda Chapman and Julie Sykes, for emails, coffee, shared spa days, and being the first people on the planet to read and offer comments on
Angel Fire
– not to mention their patience in listening to me talk about it non-stop for almost a year now! Love and thanks to you both. My brilliant agent Caroline Sheldon, as always, for being such a stalwart, constant support. My former editor Megan Larkin, whose solid instincts were such a great help during the early stages of
Angel Fire
. My UK editors Rebecca Hill and Stephanie King, who ensured that the transition to having a new editor was completely painless, and whose excited response to the finished manuscript was really everything an author could hope for. Huge thanks to both of you for all your insightful suggestions. (And a special thank you to Stephanie, who, for her sins, often gets to deal with me on the phone, and is unfailingly a calm voice of reason!) My US editor Deborah Wayshak, who received the manuscript at the same time, and whose enthusiasm and perceptive comments were again all I could have wished for – between her, Rebecca and Stephanie, I really feel that I have a dream team of editors. Amy Dobson and Anna Howorth, of Usborne Publicity and Marketing respectively, whose efforts in promoting the series simply couldn’t be bettered. They’re also to be thanked for putting together the incredible
Angel
soundtrack (a link can be found at www.angelfever.com), which I’ve listened to more times than I can count. My brother and sister, Chuck Benson and Susan Lawrence, for being so thrilled over their little sister’s career. Love you both! All of the friendly and helpful people my husband and I met in Mexico City when I went there for research, particularly our driver Fernando (I wish I’d gotten your surname!), who cheerfully answered all my nosy questions about life in the amazing Mexican capital. Neil Chowney, for his much-appreciated advice on motorcycle repair – if I got something wrong, it’s not Neil’s fault! Helen Corner, who told me one night in a London pub that Willow absolutely could NOT have shoulder-length brown hair, and that I had to give her a short, funky cut of a startling colour instead. You were totally right, hon. My fab friend Julie Cohen, for her spot-on story instincts and all the lame carbonite jokes. Composer Bear McCreary, whose music has been playing in the background almost every day that I’ve written this story. All of the wonderful bloggers who’ve taken the time to review
Angel
– thank you; it’s enthusiastic readers like you who make it all worthwhile! Everyone who contributes to the
Angel
Facebook pages on both sides of the Atlantic (www.facebook.com/angel.trilogy and www.facebook.com/AngelBookTrilogy) – I love reading your comments, and also seeing your picks for the stars in a fantasy movie version of
Angel
. (Some of the picks for Alex have been SO hot; I can hardly wait to see who you suggest to play Seb!) A huge thank you as well to my followers on Twitter, for having such a passion for the series and being so eager for
Angel Fire
to come out. I can’t tell you how many times a tweet from one of you has made me smile. Particular thanks goes to @MarDixon, @DarkReaders, and @EmpireofBooks. And on the subject of Twitter (my addiction to which is the fault of @Usborne, by the way!), thanks to fellow authors and Twitter-holics Zoë Marriott and Cat Clarke – both of whom have unknowingly saved my sanity at times, just by being there to tweet back and forth with for a few minutes during the day. And, to all of my readers who’ve loved the story and wanted more – thank you, more than I can say.
Last but absolutely not least, my husband Peter, who really could not be blamed if he wished he hadn’t married a writer, but is in fact an endless source of support, encouragement, and love. Thank you, Pete. I love you. x
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