Brightly Woven (39 page)

At that moment, it began to rain.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

One of my favorite things to do when I first pick a book up off the shelf is to read the acknowledgments page. Now that it’s my turn, I find I have a lot of people to thank!

First and foremost, I’d like to thank my family. My sister, Stephanie, and my brother, Daniel, who make me so proud and so happy every day, and my parents, who have always made sure there was enough room for imagination in our lives. I also must lavish some gratitude on Uncle Cary and Aunt
, who read early versions of the story and believed that I could make something of my writing.

None of this would have been possible without the unfailingly wonderful Lindsay Davis, who championed this story from day one. Everyone at Egmont USA has been a constant source of joy and humor over the past months, and I’m so grateful that I’ve come to know and work with all of you. I have great admiration for my genius editor, Ruth Katcher, who was not only willing to hack down an army of adverbs but also to work around my crazy final semester of college.

And now, to my friends—I hope you don’t need an acknowledgments page to know how much you mean to me. Mike, Garrett and the entire Bell family, Kevin, Julia—thank you! To Kevin Dua, as well as Maggie, Allison, and all of my lovely girls who wear the golden key—do you realize how wonderful you are?

Finally, to Carlin, who loved Syd and North from the beginning and did so much more than read and edit all of my early drafts. For all of your encouragement and our insane study sessions, midnight pancakes, oldies jam sessions, and amazing adventures—thank you! Happy (very) belated birthday!

A
LEXANDRA
B
RACKEN
wrote
Brightly Woven
as a birthday present for a friend, and the story grew and flourished during a year of unpredictable, wild weather. A native of Arizona, Bracken is a graduate of the College of William & Mary, where she majored in history and English. She now lives in New York City. You can visit her online at
www.alexandrabracken.com
.

EGMONT
We bring stories to life

First published by Egmont USA, 2010
443 Park Avenue South, Suite 806
New York, NY 10016

Copyright © Alexandra Bracken, 2010
All rights reserved

www.egmontusa.com
www.alexandrabracken.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bracken, Alexandra.
Brightly woven / Alexandra Bracken.
p. cm.
Summary: Sixteen-year-old Sydelle Mirabil, an unusually talented weaver, must master her mysterious power and join a young wizard in stopping an imminent war in her land.
eISBN: 978-1-60684-195-2
[1. Weaving—Fiction. 2. Wizards—Fiction. 3. Fantasy.] I. Title.
PZ7.B6988Br 2010

[Fic]—dc22   2009025115

Map illustration by Heather Saunders

CPSIA tracking label information
Random House Production • 1745 Broadway • New York, NY 10019

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher and copyright owner.

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