Seven Black Diamonds (27 page)
Some of the usual suspects need thanks:
Jeaniene Frost, Kelley Armstrong, and Jeanette Battista read and kept me sane(ish) while writing. I’d hide a body for all/any of you.
Neil provided shelter and space where the words are many and the peace is endless. Sending much love to you, as always.
Merrilee gave me the mad enthusiasm and faith that makes me think she might be a wee bit crazier than me. I’m grateful for having you in my corner.
Susan Katz, Kate Jackson, Jean McGinley, Alison Donalty, and Colleen O’Connell have been with me at Harper for eight (?!) novels before this one. Having a team like you has made all the difference over the years. Thank you.
Additional thanks must go to:
Laura Kalnajs read, reread, reread this book again—and scrawled margin notes every time . . . all while reminding me of the things I need to do, sign, or attend. You are a gift.
Diana Santillán double-checked my Spanish. (Who knew that a friendship from seventh grade
would lead to such an odd request, umm, a
few
years later?) Thank you, Di.
Youval Kuipers walked me through various sword-fighting scenarios (and convinced me that I needed to have a sword in my hand in order to do so). You’ve been completely unexpected.
Kristen Pettit (my new YA editor) thought a three-word pitch (“faery sleeper cells”) was
actually
the start of a new book and patiently listened when I went on folklore digressions in conversations. Thank you for being hard-core in slashing my prose.
Extra gratitude needs to be sent to:
Cynthia Omololu, who listened and laughed when I was writing this. I love you (enough to constantly try foods you hold out, even
eel
because your son gave me puppy eyes, too!).
My son Dylan, who doesn’t hold my frequent travel or bad cooking skills against me.
My spouse, who has marginally better cooking skills and excellent toddler-wrangling skills.
My toddler, who thinks that my job is either “go
avion
”
(plane) or “drink cat pee” (coffee) and is sure I need kisses to do so. (He’s right.)
My readers and reviewers, who have been buying my books and/or borrowing them from the library for ten years now. Thank you for a decade of support. XO.
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MELISSA MARR
is the
New York Times
bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series as well as the adult fantasy novels
Graveminder
and
The Arrivals
. When not writing, editing, or traveling, Melissa is buried under a plethora of books, dogs, and children in Virginia or online at
www.melissamarrbooks.com
.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at
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Wicked Lovely with Bonus Material
(Art by Xian Nu Studio)
Volume 1: Sanctuary
Volume 2: Challenge
Volume 3: Resolve
Bunny Roo
(illustrated by Teagan White)
Writing as M. A. Marr, Coauthored with K. L. Armstrong
Loki’s Wolves
Odin’s Ravens
Thor’s Serpents
Untamed City: Carnival of Secrets
Cover art © 2016 by Sean Freeman
SEVEN BLACK DIAMONDS.
Copyright © 2016 by Melissa Marr. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015940707
ISBN 978-0-06-201117-6
EPub Edition © February 2016 ISBN 9780062239211
15 16 17 18 19
PC/RRDH
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
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