When Life Gives You O.J. (20 page)

I am grateful for the love, support, and encouragement of my family, especially my wonderful husband, Mike, our book- and dog-crazy daughters, Franny and Bougie, and our devoted dog, Lucy. I am also thankful for my terrific friends—I hope you guys will forgive me for not listing each and every one of you—who’ve always been there for me. Especially helpful to this book were Mary Kay Zuravleff; Katy Kelly; Susan Shreve and Tim Seldes (and their dogs: Zelda, Miss Elly, and Kubla, respectively); my amazing agent, Carrie Hannigan; and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Erin Clarke and everyone at Knopf Books for Young Readers have my eternal gratitude for reading, loving, and championing this book. And special thanks go to Dan and Elly Perl and John and Maryann Sewell, four of the grandest parents (and best grandparents) anyone could be lucky enough to have.

Extra-large creemees of appreciation must be provided to my Vermont crew. They include: Anais Langley, Amy Halverson, Maria Lee, Kate Charron, Milia Bell, and Jennifer Spafford Danish (collectively known as the HC86); Greg and Jena Strong; my beloved BuFTY buddies, especially Eric Slesar; my fabulous cousin Bari Nan Cohen; and my Green
Mountain PR Machine, Lisa Schamberg. Hugs and knishes go to the Dream Team that vetted my Yiddishisms: Maxwell “Mac” Postow (my great-uncle, who at ninety-eight is easily one of the coolest people I know), Emily Perl Kingsley (my aunt, who is younger than Uncle Mac, but no less excellent), my parents, and the copyediting mensches at Knopf.

The character of Ace was inspired by my grandfather Alan Francis Perl, who died in December 2002. It was also shaped by the relationship I was fortunate enough to have with all my grandparents (including the rubber band queen, Miriam “Dearie” Postow, who is still with us), and two of my great-grandparents, for the better part of my childhood. Like Ace, Grandpa Alan was a dedicated fisherman, golfer, and Trekkie. He was also an enthusiastic collector of odd tchotchkes and bad jokes, and an inveterate arguer. The world misses him. As do I.

Erica S. Perl is the author of many celebrated children’s books, including
Dotty, Chicken Butt!
, and
Chicken Bedtime Is Really Early
. She is also the author of the young adult novel
Vintage Veronica
. Erica was raised in Burlington, Vermont, by transplanted New Yorkers. She is happy to report that you can now get excellent bagels in the Green Mountain State. Erica currently lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, two daughters, and, of course, a dog. Her website is
www.ericaperl.com
.