Anywhere but Here (27 page)

I pop the film into its case just as a honk sounds outside. Hannah's arranged a snowshoeing trip for the day. I have a surprise for her too. A giant-size, specially imported bag of pork rinds. Her life won't be complete until she tries them.

But first, she should come inside for breakfast. We both might like eggs Florentine. After that . . . well, there are still more scenes to be shot.

I am absolutely bubbling over with gratitude for the people who helped me create this book. The BC Arts Council provided financial support. A huge thank-you to my wonderful agent, Patricia Ocampo, and her colleague Marie Campbell at Transatlantic Literary Agency. Thank you also to everyone at Simon & Schuster, especially Annette Pollert, who helped bring Cole to life.

And, of course, I couldn't have written the book without the support of Min, Julia, and Matthew, who put up with a wife/mother who spent long periods having imaginary conversations in her head and neglecting to answer real-life questions. Thank you also to my friend and mentor Colleen MacMillan, and to Gordon, Shirley, and Sandy Lloyd for being willing beta readers, defenders of small towns everywhere, and founts of sage advice.

Nicole Ebert answered all my medical questions (although any mistakes are mine, of course!), and Carl Hofbauer lent me
his film lore and lingo. Leanne Lafrance and Gord Bradley solved my life's crises while I wrote, and Arlene Fidel and Liliana Villalpando kept my children alive—thank you for being my village.

Finally, I am blessed and spoiled by the support of two fabulous groups of women. The Inkslingers (Rachelle Delaney, Kallie George, Christy Goerzen, Maryn Quarless, and Lori Sherritt-Fleming) is the best critique group on earth. Every time we meet, I feel honored to be in such company. And the Dirty Girls Running Group Which Doesn't Actually Run (Alex Bayne, Heidi De Lazzer, Jacqui Thomas, Joanna Clark, Shanda Jordan, Krystal Beley, and Rebecca Porte) keeps my world spinning on dark days and bright ones.

Thank you!

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

SIMON PULSE

An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division

1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

www.SimonandSchuster.com

First Simon Pulse edition October 2013

Text copyright © 2013 by Tanya Kyi

Cover photograph copyright © 2013 by plainpicture/Pierre Baelen

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

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Book design by Karina Granda

Jacket designed by Karina Granda

Jacket Photograph Copyright © 2013 by Plainpicture/Pierre Baelen

The text of this book was set in Adobe Garamond Pro.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kyi, Tanya Lloyd, 1973–

Anywhere but here / Tanya Lloyd Kyi. — First Simon Pulse edition.

p. cm.

Summary: Ever since his mom died, Cole feels stuck. He just wants to graduate and leave his small, suffocating town. And everything is going according to plan—until Cole discovers the one secret that could keep him there . . . forever.

[1. Coming of age—Fiction. 2. Grief—Fiction. 3. Interpersonal relations—Fiction. 4. Documentary films—Production and direction—Fiction. 5. Single-parent families—Fiction. 6. Canada—Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.K9795Any 2013   [Fic]—dc23   2012051439

ISBN 978-1-4424-8070-4 (hc)

ISBN 978-1-4424-8069-8 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-4424-8071-1 (eBook)