Wildcat Fireflies (48 page)

“One-four-three-two.” Tens smiled down at me, tucking my hair behind my ears.

The empty journal on the kitchen table called to me as I walked past it. Auntie’s quilts. Juliet’s food. Maybe words were my way of dealing with soul dust. It was something to think about; there was plenty of time.

I love Indiana. My roots there go back several generations. It’s where I’ve spent some of my most glorious and also my most heartbreaking days. Summers in Indy included firefly hunting, catfish dinners, frozen custard, and Wildcat Creek.

I was thrilled to write about a setting so dear to my heart, but because it’s fiction, I made a few tweaks for story flow and continuity. I’ve also played with the geography to make it work for me. I beg the forgiveness of Hoosiers who notice the changes. Landmarks like the Wabash River, Wildcat Creek, Fort Ouiatenon, Eiteljorg Museum, and Prophetstown really do exist and can be visited, though they’re not quite as close together as I’ve made them.

My grandmother, Connie Wick, was instrumental in stopping the creation of a dam in Wildcat Creek that would have flooded farmland and been an environmental disaster for the state. So the Creek has been part of my family’s history for many years, and it felt right to have Juliet find solace along its banks.

Carmel is a real town, and was home to an actual Helios Tea Room. I changed the store’s layout, its merchandise, its design and decorations, and how it’s operated. While Joi is its fictional owner, Kathy Kraft was Helios’s actual proprietor. Unfortunately, between the writing of this story and its publication, Kathy lost her battle with cancer and Helios was closed.

Feast of the Fireflies is not real, but Feast of the Hunters’ Moon happens each year in October, near West Lafayette, at the real Fort Ouiatenon. It is a full reenactment and does have food, merchandise and crafts demonstrations. As the song says, I do so love to be “Back Home Again in Indiana” when I visit.

Every book has a team of people who work extremely hard to bring it to readers. I’d like to thank Stephanie Elliott for helping me shine the light of this Fenestra world so brightly, and my agent, Rosemary Stimola, who keeps track of numerous threads. Thanks to Krista Vitola for her work, Emily Pourciau for spearheading the fantastic PR, Angela Carlino for such a wonderful vision, and Chad Michael Ward for the beautiful cover art. I am grateful to Richelle Mead and Gena Showalter, who were willing to give my work a chance and then lend their words to it. I know how busy you are and it means so much to me! To Mark, Kate, Tim, Sarah and Kris LaMar, who wandered the Feast to get the flavor for me—thank you! Sarah Diers for being the best Sherpa and chauffeur these bad legs could imagine. You made many things possible.

Every author needs cheerleaders, and I have some of the best: Barney and Beth Wick, Tara Kelly, Katie Ott, Jennifer Rasmussen, Trudi and Bill Trueit, Erika and Scott Jones, Becky Breeze, Carolyn McClamroch, Bob and Amy Kraft, the Veatches, Misty and Donnie Bittinger, Greg Edson, Diana McFadden, Mark Wick, Keith Wick, Sue Wiant, Pete Kizer. To Kari Yadro, who makes Barnes & Noble look good every day with her awesome dedication and professionalism: you
are
the best! To those who made the publication of
Meridian
so memorable: Lisa Bjork and the SWSF board, Linda Racicot, Mary McCleod, the
Georges, the Kistlers, Lynn James, Robin Roberts, Pete O’Dell, Vanessa Link, the LMS Corduroy Bear Kids, the Reeds, LMS musicians with Jess Foley, Lynne Malecki, Molly and David Waterman, Susan Shira. The Lundgrens for the H1N1 rescue dinner, thank you. To GZL for every bit of inspiration I poured into Mistress. To my fantastic fans, who share their delight, their stories, and their connections with me, thank you—especially Aurora Momcilovich, Lindsay Sergi, Louisse Ang, and Maria Cabal. To the international agents, publishers, and translators who’ve helped bring my stories to readers around the globe: I am indebted to you for your enthusiasm. Thanks to the men and women of our military who served and protected while I wrote, especially Carl Herring, Jeff Morris, Amy Smith, Jane Miller, Demetrius Bussey, Linda Davis, Evan Davies, Naomi Lewis, Stephen Drake, Emanul Carter, Dennis Caliyo. Thanks to Brent and Joan Zefkeles, who supported the Puget Sound Area USO and shared their beloved Nicole Rachel Lehtinen with me. Eugene Ehrlich’s
The Highly Selective Thesaurus for the Extraordinarily Literate
and Simon Hertnon’s
Endangered Words
were both instrumental and pivotal for Rumi’s vocabulary. Thanks to the B-52s and the True Colors Tour, whose “Juliet of the Spirits” seeded my Juliet. Mom, thank you for all the candle sniffing, newspaper clipping, driving, listening, and loving. I am blessed.

Amber Kizer
has always found fireflies an enchanting part of the Midwestern summer. She was thrilled to write about a place and people who are so dear to her heart. For
Wildcat Fireflies
, Amber drew on years of family stories and favorite places to introduce Meridian and Tens to the bright soul-lights she’s known in Indiana. She wrote this story while burning an Early Sunrise–scented candle and listening to a sound track that included the B-52s, Owl City, Within Temptation, Ophelia of the Spirits, Enya, Angels & Airwaves, and Áine Minogue.

The first book in the Meridian saga,
Meridian
, is
available in several languages and an audio version.
Wildcat Fireflies
is the second Meridian book; two more are forthcoming. Amber’s series Gert Garibaldi’s Rants and Raves follows an American teen’s frank and funny adventures while growing up.
One Butt Cheek at a Time
, the first book in that series, was named a New York Public Library Best Book for the Teen Age; the second Gert Garibaldi book is
7 Kinds of Ordinary Catastrophes
.

Often reading from a towering stack of books that could bury her alive if it tipped the wrong way, Amber knows that life will never be long enough to read all the amazing stories in this world. Hard at work on her next novel, she lives with her family near Seattle. She takes breaks to watch reality TV; bake tasty, bad-for-you desserts; and herd chickens. Find her on Facebook, Goodreads, and her own sites,
amberkizer.com
, meridian
sozu.com
, and
onebuttcheek.com
. She loves to hear from readers; email her at
[email protected]
.