Open Minds (36 page)

Many talented writers critiqued
Open Minds
and lent their considerable skills to making the story better. Much appreciation goes to my SCBWI writer’s group for their enthusiastic support, which is an essential nutrient for any writer’s soul. Thanks go to Andi Phillips, Bethany Kaczmarek, Erynn Newman, and Charity Tinnin, for reading chapter after chapter and steering me where I (and the manuscript) needed to go. Thank you to Sherrie Petersen, for feedback on kisses, technology, and endings. And for reading it
again
. And especially for loving it. Thank you to Stina Lindenblatt for liking Raf even more than Kira does and for being honest about what needed to be changed. Double thanks are due to Rebecca Carlson, fellow science fiction traveler, for reading two completely separate drafts and for the amazing, detailed feedback that always shines up my words. A breezy aye to Adam Heine for slang tutorials and pointing out just where I cheated. A huge thank-you to Terry Lynn Johnson for reading it, loving it, and that other part, even though it didn’t work out. A bucket of gratitude to Michelle Davidson Argyle for her enthusiasm and honesty, the two things I like about her most. And extra special thanks go to Kate Monson and Brandi Pease for being my teen beta readers.

And finally, apologies to my husband and three boys for all the time I spent on the computer, when you probably wished you had socks that matched and something other than macaroni and cheese for dinner. Especially since I’m going to do it again for the next book. Thanks for putting up with me!

about the AUTHOR

Susan Kaye Quinn grew up in California, where she wrote snippets of stories and passed them to her friends during class. Her teachers pretended not to notice and only confiscated her notes a couple times. She pursued a bunch of engineering degrees (Aerospace, Mechanical, and Environmental) and worked a lot of geeky jobs, including turns at GE Aircraft Engines, NASA, and NCAR. Now that she writes novels, her business card says “Author and Rocket Scientist” and she doesn’t have to sneak her notes anymore.

Which is too bad.

All that engineering comes in handy when dreaming up paranormal powers in future worlds or mixing science with fantasy to conjure slightly plausible inventions. For her stories, of course. Just ignore that stuff in her basement.

Susan writes from the Chicago suburbs with her three boys, two cats, and one husband. Which, it turns out, is exactly as much as she can handle.