Pines (33 page)

So thanks, Mom and Dad. Thanks, Mr. Lynch and Mr. Frost. And, of course, the inimitable Agent Dale Cooper.

Pines
is not
Twin Peaks
, not by a long shot, but it wouldn’t be here without it.

I hope you enjoyed my show.

Blake Crouch

Durango, Colorado

August 2012

Andrew Z. Thomas Series
Desert Places
Locked Doors
Break You
Thicker Than Blood
(The Complete Series)
Stirred
with J. A. Konrath

Other Works
Eerie
Run
Draculas
with J.A. Konrath, Jeff Strand, and F. Paul Wilson
Famous
Abandon
Snowbound
Serial
with Jack Kilborn
“Bad Girl” (short story)
Serial Uncut
with J.A. Konrath and Jack Kilborn
Killers
with Jack Kilborn
Birds of Prey
with Jack Kilborn and J. A. Konrath
Killers Uncut
with Jack Kilborn and J. A. Konrath
Serial Killers Uncut
with Jack Kilborn and J. A. Konrath
“*69” (short story)
“Remaking” (short story)
“On the Good, Red Road” (short story)
“Shining Rock” (short story)
“The Meteorologist” (short story)
“Unconditional” (short story)
“Hunting Season” (short story with Selena Kitt)
Perfect Little Town
(horror novella)
The Pain of Others
(novella)
Four Live Rounds
(collected stories)
Six in the Cylinder
(collected stories)
Fully Loaded
(complete collected stories)

My agent, David Hale Smith, and everyone at Thomas & Mercer has given 110 percent to help get this book off the ground. It is a privilege to know and work with such a tremendously talented group of people who are changing the way we read for the better.

A heartfelt thanks to Andy Bartlett, Jacque Ben-Zekry, Rory Connell, Vicky Griffith, Mia Lipman, Paul Diamond, Amy Bates, Jeff Belle, Daphne Durham, Jon Fine, Alex Carr, Philip Patrick, Alan Turkus, Sarah Gelman, Jodi Warshaw, and Leslie LaRue, and finally a shout-out to my KDPeeps—Brian Mitchell, Brian Carver, and Nader Kabbani.

I am incredibly fortunate to count as friends some fantastic writers and wildly astute readers. These folks gave amazing feedback on early drafts of
Pines
and made the book better in every conceivable way. So many thanks to my writing partner, Joe Konrath, Maria Konrath, my brother, Jordan Crouch, my terrific cover artist, Jeroen ten Berge, Ann Voss Peterson, Suzanne Tyrpak, Selena Kitt, and Marcus Sakey. A special thanks to Barry Eisler for a particularly adroit read.

Finally, hugs and kisses to my dear family—Rebecca, Aidan, and Annslee. Thanks for sharing me with this book I’ve been dying to write. I love you.

Photo by Marc Wilkins, 2009

Blake Crouch was born in the North Carolina piedmont in 1978. He earned his undergraduate degrees in English and creative writing from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, publishing his first two novels within five years of graduation. Since then he has published eight additional novels as well as multiple novellas, short stories, and articles. His novels
Fully Loaded
,
Run
, and
Stirred
, which was cowritten with J. A. Konrath, have each earned spots in the top ten of the Kindle bestseller list. Three novels, one novella, and one short story have all been optioned for film. He lives today in Durango, Colorado.