Finding the Forger (25 page)

As for me, I had one last mystery to solve and that, too, proved to be a case of false assumptions. At breakfast on Sunday, when I complained once again about my poetry magnets being changed, I hit big-time on Connie because it was my way of showing her how much I really loved her.

Mom looked at me like I needed Sanity Pills.

“Why are you screaming at her, Bianca? They’re just magnets. I didn’t realize they were your magnets! I thought they were fun.”
So the last person I’d have suspected—my mom—turned out to be the guilty party there, too.

At least I know what else to get her for Christmas this year, in addition to the gift certificate card from Hecht’s. In fact, I’ve already bought and wrapped it—a book of “The World’s Most Beloved Poetry,” complete with her own set of poetry magnets.

MY HEARTFELT THANKS go to all the “usual suspects” in my circle of friends and family, but especially to my husband Matthew, whose encouragement is unflagging, and to my writing friends Jerri Corgiat and Karen Brichoux, who are never too busy to share advice and to provide the occasional, and much-needed, pep talk.

I’d also like to thank the Mystery Writers of America for choosing my first book,
Uncovering Sadie’s Secrets,
as an Edgar finalist. Writing is a lonely and sometimes discouraging business. Being acknowledged for your efforts is a gift beyond measure.

Thanks, too, go to the many readers who’ve written to tell me how much they enjoyed
Sadie
and how eagerly they looked forward to reading
Forger,
and to the teens (and adults) who took the time to read
Sadie
and
Forger
before publication to offer feedback and praise.

Finally, I’d like to thank my first teachers, the Sisters of St Francis, especially those at the Catholic High School of Baltimore, whose motto—
Lux tua luceat
—has become ever more meaningful as the years go by.

L
ibby Sternberg is a writer whose social and political commentary regularly airs on Vermont Public Radio. Her articles have appeared in numerous publications, including
The Baltimore Sun, the Indianapolis Star, Insight,
and
The Weekly Standard.

She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University.

A Baltimore native, she now lives in Rutland, Vermont, is married, and has three children.

Uncovering Sadie’s Secrets,
her first published novel, was an Edgar finalist for best YA mystery published in 2003, a rare honor for a small press novel. It was also chosen by Brodart as a “small press gem,” and selected as among the Top 40 YA novels of 2003 by the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association.

Beginning in early 2005, both
Uncovering Sadie’s Secrets,
and its sequel in the Bianca Balducci mystery series,
Finding the Forger,
will appear as mass market paperbacks under the imprint of Dorchester Publishing’s new and popular YA line, Smooch.