Mr. Fahrenheit (27 page)
Authors: T. Michael Martin
Or maybe he would stay in Chicago forever. Or maybe he would move to L.A. or New York. He wasn't in the business of predicting the future anymore.
He stood there until the red lights on the train reached the
horizon and blended with the other lights: the blue stars and the white city. And for some reason, the merging of those things struck him as almost impossibly beautiful. He was awash in the middle of his
maybes
. He was happy. And what greater magic was there than that?
It took two and a half years for this flying saucer novel to achieve liftoff. Thank goodness I was blessed with so many extraordinary copilots.
My gratitude to the Nerdfighter and YouTube communities, who have taught me the beautiful flexibility of the concept of “home.” Some of those people include Craig Benzine, Bryarly Bishop, Ryder Burgin, Sabrina Cruz, Lindsey Doe, Bertie Gilbert, Emily Graslie, Caitlin Hofmeister, Akilah Hughes, Nick Jenkins, Alan Lastufka, Ashley Mardell, Peter Musser, Link Neal & Rhett McLaughlin, Tyler Oakley, Josh Sundquist, and Nathan Zed.
Many fellow storytellers were also instrumental in guiding and sustaining me through the making of
Mr. Fahrenheit
. Many thanks to Scott Derrickson, Sara Zarr, Paolo Bacigalupi, Emily Wing Smith, and the Glen West 2012 Workshop, perhaps especially Jennifer Baker.
And special thanks to . . .
My wonderful “IRL” friends, including Scott Faris, Eric Cooney, Nathan Talbott, Kelsey Roach, Caleb and Emily Masters, and Chris and Kerri Waild.
The incredible magicians who inspired me to write about “the business of wonder,” especially David Copperfield (!!!), Nate Staniforth, and Christian Painter and Katalina Absolon.
My
How to Adult
comrades Emma Mills, Hank Green, and John Green. Emma, you're one of my best buds, and I'm so lucky to get to make things with you. Hank and John, aside from the people who 1) created me, 2) married me, 3) agent me, or 4) edit me, you are responsible for more of the best things in my life than anyone else. Not to be mushy or anything, but, look, I mean, it's just, I like you. Thanks for being my fairy godbrothers.
The amazing team at HarperCollins, especially Alessandra Balzer, Viana Siniscalchi, Jon Smith, and Margot Wood.
The New Leaf Literary crew, including the amazing Pouya Shahbazian, Christopher McEwen, Kathleen Ortiz, Suzie Townsend, and Danielle Barthel. Also, super-special shout-outs to my awesome VidCon buddy Jackie Lindert, and Jaida Temperly, who is not only the most delightfully helpful person I've never met but also stepped in to help edit a pivotal draft of the book when I had lost the forest for the trees. Thanks so much, guys!
My agent, Joanna Volpe. People of Earth, would you like to know the great thing about Jo? That's a trick question, because the answer is “everything.” Jo, I knew from the beginning that you would be a fantastic agent, first reader, and business partner. What I did not know was that you would also be such a generous, kind, and amazing friend. I wish I could find the words to express how much you mean to me and Sarah. All I can say is, we love you. Thank you so much for everything, Jo. Let's keep doing this thing, okay?
Donna Bray! You had faith in me and this book when I had faith in neither. Many times, you had every right in the world to tell me to hurry up already with my flying saucer manuscript. Instead, you told me, “I trust you,” and without your faith and
caring patience, I would not have had the heart to brave the fallow months when Benji Lightman & Co. felt like ungraspable vapors. I love this book, and that is largely because you and I worked on it together, which is another thing I love. I said it in
The End Games
, but I'll say it again: I think you're ingenious, Donna, and I'm forever grateful to be one of your authors.
My family, including extended family and the Laynes and Prindles, but especially my siblings (Matt, Molly, Patrick, and “outlaws” Adriane Martin and Dave Butler) and parents, Mike and Kim. Mom and Dad, you have saved me again and again. Whatever is best in me, I owe to you guys. I hope to be half the parents you are one day.
My grandparents, especially Grandma “Bobbie” and Papaw Crouse, and Nonnie and Papaw Martin. Bobbie is, no joke, one of my best friends ever, and by far the strongest woman I know. Talking with Papaw Crouse, on the front porch in the evening time, taught me so much about people, goodness, and life in the past. Without those conversations,
Mr. Fahrenheit
wouldn't exist, because it never would have occurred to me to write it.
Thank you to Nonnie and Papaw Martin for helping teach me by example how to live a good and decent life. You've both worked so hard to make the world a more comforting, promising, and loving place. Talk about magic.
And of course the biggest thanks goes to my wife, Sarah Martin. Our lives changed so much during the writing of this book, and you, Sarah, were with me through the tears of pain and tears of joy. I will tell you a secret: For all my life, I often felt like a spiritual twin of the narrator in Marty Robbins's 1959 song “El Paso,” who sang of saddling up and riding alone through the dark. But recently I've realized the comparison no longer rings true. The greatest gift of my life is that you have traveled with me through the cold of all the lightless nights, with the faith
that dawn would gather soon on the horizon ahead. In the Chordettes' 1954 song “Mr. Sandman,” the singers asked the magic man to assure their beloved that his lonesome nights are over. Sarah, thank you so much for bringing my lonesome nights to an end.
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T. MICHAEL MARTIN
is the author of the novel
The End Games
, as well as a vlogger and the director and cohost of
How to Adult
, a popular life-skills YouTube educational channel produced by Vlogbrothers Hank Green and John Green. Martin and his wife, Sarah, live in Indianapolis. You can visit him online at
www.tmichaelmartin.com
.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at
hc.com
.
Balzer + Bray is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
MR. FAHRENHEIT
. Copyright © 2016 by T. Michael Martin. 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: 2015951287
ISBN 978-0-06-220183-6
EPub Edition © March 2016 ISBN 9780062201850
16 17 18 19 20
PC/RRDH
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
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