The Madrona Heroes Register: Echoes of the Past (35 page)

Funk #49, The James
Gang – During Chapter 19, while the kids are
being driven, the music plays as the convoy proceeds towards its
destination.

Ramble On, Led
Zeppelin
– Towards the end of Chapter 24,
the music starts right when everyone exits the building and heads
to the parking lot. It continues to play under the rest of the
chapter as it progresses.

I could not have known that when I
dreamt of being a superhero as a child, or casually thought about
telling stories as an adult, that someday these threads would come
together in the form of this book. I do know however that without
the following people’s generosity of time and spirit, this book
never would have happened.

My three children, Sivan, Bella, and
Rakefet, are unique and fascinating human beings who I constantly
admire and am endlessly striving to understand. They challenge me
to be the best person I can be, and constantly remind me of how far
I have to go. I’ve done my best to teach them that I believe life
is for creating and sharing. In some small way, writing and sharing
this story is intended to demonstrate that precept.

One other note: whenever the fictional
children in the book are doing something admirable, credit is due
wholly to my children for providing the inspiration. However, any
embarrassing incidents in the book are made up out of whole cloth
and blame should be assigned to me and me alone.

My dearest friend, Kira, was
instrumental in the creation of this book. When this book was just
a story, she was the one who insisted that I write “just the first
chapter, and let’s see how it goes.” Twenty-five chapters and an
epilogue later, she has been a tireless cheerleader, thoughtful
critic, and unpaid therapist. I’m indebted.

Even when all I knew was
that
some
story
was coming, I knew that it would be illustrated by my collaborator
(who I’m also now proud to call a friend) Caroline Hadilaksono. She
uses her paintbrush like a magic wand, trailing inspiration and
delight wherever she points it. She has brought the characters and
settings of the story to life with a delicate realism and a sense
of humor that I could only have dreamed of. I could not be more
thrilled that she has honored me by accompanying me on this
creative journey.

Reading an unedited book by an unknown
author without getting paid for it is not as glamorous as it
sounds. And let’s be honest, it doesn’t sound very glamorous at
all. But the following people did it anyway. They did it
diligently, and thoughtfully, and I’m incredibly grateful for their
honest feedback and compassionate support. My heartfelt thanks go
out to Jenny, Shelby, Amber, Steve, Pam, and Sarah. Thank you to
Roee, my medical advisor since sixth grade. A special thank you
goes to one final early reader – Berny, or as I call him, Dad. His
thoughtful compliments and articulate critiques have meant the
world to me.

If you are a person who has a dream,
or several as I tend to, I cannot recommend strongly enough that
you have someone in your life that supports you in those dreams no
matter what. Whether they’re big or small, whether they’re
realistic or ridiculous, having someone by your side that will do
anything they can to see you have a chance at achieving your hopes
is absolutely essential. For me that person is Debra Weissman. The
word “editing” doesn’t begin to describe the work that Debbie did
to help my jumbles of words become an actual readable novel. Lucky
for me, Debbie’s generosity isn’t limited to the time she put into
this dream of mine. She’s the mother to my three beautiful
children, and I’m so grateful that she has been and always will be
a part of my life.

Thank you so much for reading this
book. Sharing this story with you is immensely rewarding for me.
Since you’ve already given me your time, I hesitate to ask you for
something else. That said, I believe that the more people that read
this book, the better future books will be. So if you have the
inclination and the energy, I would ask you simply to spread the
word. Here are some suggestions:

Suggest the book to a
friend.

Suggest that a parent read the book to
their child.

Suggest that a child read the book to
their parent.

Suggest to a teacher that they read it
to their class.

‘
Like’ and ‘Share’ Madrona
Heroes on Facebook.
http://facebook.com/madronaheroes

‘
Tweet’ about the Madrona
Heroes. (@madronaheroes)

Give the book an honest review on
goodreads.com.

Give the book an honest review on
amazon.com.

Make and share some Madrona Heroes
art.

And
most importantly, write me with your feedback –
[email protected]
.
I’ll do my best to reply, and I promise that I will read everything
that comes my way.

–
hillel

Hillel Cooperman has pretended to be a
superhero since he was a small child. He conceived of the story of
the Madrona Heroes in the summer of 2012 on a trip abroad with his
family. By winter, he had started writing in earnest. He lives in
the Madrona neighborhood of Seattle with his three children, their
three cats, and thousands of Lego bricks. His superpower is
procrastination. The Madrona Heroes Register is his first
novel.

Caroline Hadilaksono is an
Indonesian-born illustrator living in Brooklyn by way of Los
Angeles. Her life goal is to make watercolor travel-sketches from
as many different places in the world as possible. She dreams of
living in a tree house one day. She enjoys watercoloring, eating,
and laughing, preferably simultaneously. Her superpower is
organizing things.

Thank you for reading
“Echoes of the Past – Book No. 4 of The Madrona Heroes
Register”.