the cheek and sits down next to me, grabbing a croissant from the table. “Are you still meeting us for dinner, Dad?”
“I wouldn’t miss it.” Cal offers his son a cup of coffee.
“Great.” Seth reaches for the mug and then pauses when he notices my new chip-watch. “Holy Barbelo, what’s that?”
“It’s a present,” I say. “From your dad.”
Seth picks up my wrist gently in his hand. “What, no finger-chips?”
“And infest myself with technology?” I say. “No thank you!”
“Maybe next year,” Seth says, grinning. Then he unclasps the watch for a closer look. He turns it over to inspect the back. “Nice, Dad. You did good.”
I bend over to see what Seth is looking at. That’s when I see the engraving.
Cal had the McNeal family sun etched on the back of my timepiece!
I look up at Cal, but I can’t find any words. I just stare at him while Seth slides the watch back on my arm.
Cal clears his throat. “You two better be going. Daylight is calling.”
“Exactly,” Seth agrees, taking a sip of coffee. “What do you say, Blanca? How about we go have some fun in public?”
I look down at my chip-watch and then up at my new family. “Let’s go,” I say. “This day is going to make the best post ever.”
THE END
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book would not be in your hands without two pioneering women behind it. My agent, Liza Fleissig, of the Liza Royce Agency, is my friend and champion. Georgia McBride, of Georgia McBride Media Group, makes dreams come true. There is no possible way I could express enough gratitude to these fine ladies.
Jaime Arnold, my excellent publicist, you really are a rockstar in the YA world. Thank you for answering so many questions and entertaining my wild ideas.
I would also like to thank my small army of beta readers, Alana Albertson, Carol Brudnicki, Karyn Brudnicki, Muffie Humphrey, Vanessa Moody, Jennifer Parmenter, Sarah Weston, and Sharman Badgett-Young. You made Genesis Girl better.
My LRA siblings, Joshua David Bellin, Darlene Beck-Jacobson, and Sarah J. Schmitt have answered many frantic emails, and provided expert advice on writing. Ginger Harris-Dontzin from LRA, thank you for your work on my behalf.
Jeanne Ryan, not only did you come to my son’s school years ago to volunteer your time as an author, you’ve been my Washington State fairy godmother, swooping in to help when I needed it most. I can’t wait to watch Nerve on the big screen.
An unseen hand in Genesis Girl is the pioneering work of Dale Carnegie. I based some of the Vestal tactics on ideas first explored in his famous book from 1936 called How to Win Friends and Influence People. I also used my experience as a Psychology major at Stanford University where I was taught by the most brilliant researchers in the field.
Thank you to all of my social media friends and followers. I’d like to give a special shout-out to my Delta Gamma sister Claire McCormack Hazlett, who has had my back every step of the way on my blog, TeachingMyBabytoRead.com, and on my Facebook page, The YA Gal. An extra wave goes to my pals from The Sweet Sixteens.
Sixteen to Read sisters, Michelle Andreani, Ashley Herring Blake, Jennie K. Brown, Jennifer DiGiovanni, Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, J. Keller Ford, Catherine Lo, Sarah Glenn Marsh, Sonya Mukherjee, Marisa Reichardt, Meghan Rogers, Shannon M. Parker, Erin L. Schneider, Janet B. Taylor, and Darcy Woods, this journey has been richer because of your friendship.
I live in Edmonds, Washington, and am proud to call Puget Sound my home. Every week I write a column called “I Brake for Moms” for The Everett Daily Herald. To my Herald readers, it is a privilege spending Sunday mornings with you. To the wonderful people at The Herald including Jon Bauer, Sally Birks, Andrea Brown, Gale Fiege, Jessi Loerch, Melanie Munk, Doug Parry, and Aaron Swaney, thank you for developing me as a writer. I owe a special debt of gratitude to executive editor Neal Pattison for taking a chance on an unknown stay-at-home mom.
To my parents, Bruce and Carol Williams, thank you for giving me such a beautiful childhood full of warmth and happy memories. Thank you to my sister, Diane, for making it joyous. My in-laws, Marc and Lynn Bardsley, are the best second set of parents I could ever wish for.
To my husband, Doug, thank you for putting up with the thousands of hours I spent crafting Blanca’s world. Bryce and Brenna, I love you with all my heart. When you are