Bonus picture: me, directly after receiving the offer of publication call while actively boarding a flight.

Because community is the heart of this book. I wrote it for those who feel adrift, or trapped, or lonely. For those looking for belonging and meaning, and for those who need a gentle word of encouragement. I hope you’ll find what you need in this book, and I can’t wait to share it with you all.

Thank you to the friends, family, and fellow writers who have been part of the journey. Publishing is an industry rife with uncertainty and doubt, and your feedback, encouragement, and enthusiasm have buoyed me through the low moments. I am so grateful to belong to such an incredible community.

And thank you always to Megan, without whom none of this would have ever been possible.

Gabby, thank you for loving Igor and his friends and their story—I feel so lucky to be working with someone whose vision for this book is so perfectly aligned with my own, and I’m so happy that we get to bring it to life together.

A huge, huge thank you to my amazing agent Brent Taylor for helping to shape this oddball idea into an actual book, and for pitching it to my incredible editor Gabby Colangelo.

Thanks! There’s no such thing as unskilled labor, so it was high time the henchpeople digging up graves and piecing together body parts got their moment to shine.

Great meeting you Garrett!

Wait, this is just Fight Club

Be a rebel punk. Believe in a better future.

The status quo HATES that

“Bob trembled, and got a little nearer to the ruler. He had a momentary idea of knocking Scrooge down with it, holding him, and calling to the people in the court for help and a strait-waistcoat.”