Don't Get Caught (22 page)

Writing a novel is a lot more collaborative than I ever knew. I’m forever thankful to the following people for their help and support:

First and foremost, thanks to my wonderful, supportive, and brilliant wife, Jen, who started me on this adventure by not-so-subtly convincing me to attend my first writing conference by saying, “Oh, you
are
going.” She’s not only my biggest champion and best friend, but she also gave me the four most wonderful reasons to exist: Brody, Sam, Charlie, and Murphy. I love you all.

My brother-in-arms John Mantooth deserves a warehouse of craft beer for reading all eight drafts and talking me off the ledge hundreds of times. Early readers Sam W. Anderson, Kim Despins, Daryl Gregory, Josh Penzone, and Kimberly Gabriel (Your turn’s next!) helped get this book out of the trenches with their notes and friendship.

Kerry Sparks is a true badass who gave me the chance no one else would. If you look up
literary superagent
in the dictionary, there’s a picture of Kerry carrying all her writers on her back while she stands on a pile of bloodied and beaten foes foolish enough to get in her way.

Editor extraordinaire Aubrey Poole had the razor-sharp insight and enthusiasm I needed to make this book as good as it could possibly be. I’m thankful to her and the rest of the Sourcebooks team for their incredible support and hospitality.

Writers Josh Berk, Michael Cook, John Langan, Petra Miller, John Rector, Ian Rogers, Lance Rubin, Brett Savory, Paul Tremblay, Fred Venturini, and Erik Williams probably aren’t aware of how helpful and motivating they’ve been, but hopefully, now they know. Andrew Smith graciously gave me a kick in the ass precisely when I needed it. Thanks to Mac McCaughan of Superchunk for permission to use his lyrics.

My mom and dad let me read and watch whatever I wanted while growing up, which is questionable parenting at best, but forever appreciated. My brothers, Eric, Brent, and Jay, were always better at sports than I was, so this novel is probably just a thinly masked attempt at showing off in the only way I can.

On occasion, I had to turn to the experts for their brilliance: Pat George is a grammar goddess; Kristi Stephens is a math nerd; Halie Limpert is a lacrosse beast; Matt MacNish is a query letter master; Aaron Roberts is a design guru; Whitney Ballentine is a photography wizard; and Amanda and Julie are Panera rock stars for sneaking me free coffee. Extra special thanks to Barbara and John Miller, who, among a million other things, graciously watched the kids when I needed extra writing time.

My students over the last twenty-one years have given me plenty of inspiration, laughs, and headaches. I expect a three-page review of this novel on my desk by Monday.

And finally, a special thanks to my oldest brother, Eric, who passed away before this was published. If he hadn’t let me read his books and listen to his albums when I was growing up, this novel wouldn’t exist. He never got a chance to read this, but I’d like to think he would’ve gotten a kick out of it.

©Whitney Ballentine

Kurt Dinan has taught high school English for more than twenty-one years, and while he’s never pulled any of the pranks detailed in this novel, he was once almost arrested in college for blizzarding the campus with fliers promoting a fake concert. He lives and works in the suburbs of Cincinnati with his wife and his four children, whom he affectionately refers to as “the Crime Spree.”
Don’t Get Caught
is his first novel.

Thank you for reading
!

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