The Guardian Herd (24 page)

Star walked at her right flank and Brackentail walked at her left, and for the first time in many moons, Star relaxed and enjoyed the shining sun, feeling content. He was just a regular pegasus, he belonged to a giant herd, and his best friend was leading him home.

MY HEARTFELT APPRECIATION GOES TO RICHARD
Bach and Sabryna Bach for allowing me to use a quote from
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
as an epigraph in
Windborn
. Mr. Bach's inspiring novel about a seagull named Jonathan carried me through some hard and lonely times in high school. I moved often, which meant I changed schools often, but my books moved with me and became friends. So when I decided to create a special friend for Star on the coast of Anok, it was no accident that I chose a bird—a seagull I named Crabwing. And their scenes together remain some of my favorites. Thank you, Richard Bach, for creating the wonderful character of Jonathan Livingston and writing about him.

I'm thankful to have such a wonderful and dedicated team at HarperCollins Children's Books. I offer huge applause to each person who has helped these books soar. And without further ado, may I introduce you to the hardworking and passionate folks who turn computer files into full-fledged, hold-in-your hands, see-them-in a bookstore, bona fide, made-in-the USA books:

Rosemary Brosnan, Editorial Director

Karen Chaplin, Senior Editor

David McClellan, Illustrator

Heather Daugherty and Erin Fitzsimmons, Book Jacket and Interior Design

Alexei Esikoff and Jessica Berg, Production Editors

Andrea Curley, Copyeditor

Oriana Sisko and Tina Cameron, Production Managers

Kimberly VandeWater, Marketing

Andrea Pappenheimer and Kathy Faber, Sales

Patty Rosati and Molly Motch, Library Outreach

Olivia Russo, Publicity

Andrew Eiden, Audio Book Narrator

Deyan Audio, Audio Book Producer

Special thanks goes to my agent, Jacqueline Flynn. She's my friend and advocate, and I appreciate her strong and knowledgeable support, not just for my books, but also
for me as an author. Thanks also to my family: my husband, Ramon, and my three children. My family is patient and encouraging, and I hope they are as proud of me as I am of them.

I also want to express special appreciation for Karen Chaplin, my primary editor. When it comes to my writing, there is no relationship more important to me than the one with my editor. I trust Karen completely and without reservation. Any story faults and writing flaws—they are mine. Karen doesn't fix my work for me. She guides me. She points out what is confusing and what doesn't belong. She's very good at doing this and then she leaves me to my revisions. She helps me discover the story within the story, she helps me clarify the world I've created, and she sticks up for the characters when I write over them. And where I don't succeed, we start again. We keep revising until I've reached the end of my abilities. A great editor is a gift, and I'm blessed to have a great editor. Thank you, Karen Chaplin.

Photo by Karen Perez

JENNIFER LYNN ALVAREZ
received a degree in English literature from UC Berkeley. She blogs about her books and the publishing business (
www.jenniferlynnalvarez.com
) and speaks regularly at schools about creative writing. She lives on a small ranch in Northern California with her husband, three children, and their horses. When writing her books, Jennifer draws on her lifelong love of animals for inspiration. When she's not writing, Jennifer can be spotted galloping her mare across the golden foothills of Sonoma County.
The Guardian Herd: Starfire, The Guardian Herd: Stormbound
, and
The Guardian Herd: Landfall
are the first three books in this series. Learn more about the Guardian Herd at
www.theguardianherd.com
. And follow Jennifer on Facebook and on Twitter @JenniferDiaries.

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The Guardian Herd: Starfire

The Guardian Herd: Stormbound

The Guardian Herd: Landfall

COVER ART © 2016 BY DAVID McCLELLAN

COVER DESIGN BY HEATHER DAUGHERTY

THE GUARDIAN HERD: WINDBORN
. Text copyright © 2016 by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez. Interior art © 2016 by David McClellan. 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.

www.harpercollinschildrens.com

ISBN 978-0-06-228615-4

EPub Edition © August 2016 ISBN 9780062286178

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FIRST EDITION

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