Blood mountain, p.16
Blood Mountain,
p.16
No book is made without the contributions of countless people. Once again, my editor, Liz Szabla, proved instrumental in her deft touch: when to prompt and shape, when to encourage, when to leave me alone. How does she know? It’s a wonder. Liz has a cardsharp’s knack for knowing what to hold and what to discard. I came to Liz with a fuzzy idea—but with no map, no compass. Somehow over the course of a long conversation, my vague idea transformed into something substantially different. In other words, Liz showed me True North, set me on the path. Go, write. The wanderings were up to me.
There was a real Sitka, a friend’s dog that lived with us for a while in college. But the dog in my mind during the writing of this book was my first, dear Doolin, scooped up from the pound, my loyal companion for many walks through the woods.
Many different books informed and inspired the writing of this one. Four seem especially worthy of acknowledgment: The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben, The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel, The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane, and Inside a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know by Alexandra Horowitz.
Thanks, lastly, to my family: Lisa, Nick, Gavin, and Maggie. I’d be lost without you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James Preller is the author of the popular Jigsaw Jones mystery books, which have sold more than 10 million copies since 1998. He is also the author of Bystander, named a 2009 Junior Library Guild Selection, Six Innings, an ALA Notable Book, and Mighty Casey, his own twist on the classic poem, “Casey at the Bat.” In addition to writing full-time, Preller plays in a men’s hardball league and coaches Little League. He compares coaching kids to “trying to hold the attention of a herd of earthworms.” He lives in Delmar, New York with his wife, three children, cats and dog. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraph
Day One
1. Day Trip
2. Carter
3. Knife
4. Grace
5. Twizzlers
6. Trouble
7. Hold Up
8. Unworried
9. Heartburn
10. Lost
11. Sleep Tight
12. Stealth
Day 2
13. Makayla
14. Rise, Shine
15. Downhill
16. Reconnaissance
17. Fall
18. Grace
19. Escape
20. First Aid
21. A Plan
Day 3
22. Quest
23. Huntress
24. Peace
25. Gone
26. On The Rim
27. Clues
28. Way-Finder
29. Tracks
30. Bog
31. Seeking
32. Carter
33. Lift
34. Prey
Day 4
35. Grace
36. Sleep
37. The Camp
38. Try
39. John
40. Search
41. Rock Thoughts
42. Shreds
43. Vultures
44. Stranger
45. Twilight
46. Trust
47. Dream
Day 5
48. Doughnuts
49. New Morning
50. Assassin
51. Warmer
52. Erratics
53. Whistle
54. Slingshot
55. Come
56. Damage
57. Here
58. Amazing
59. The Boy
Day 6
60. Escape
61. Guests
62. Extraction
63. Carter
64. Cougar
65. Interview
66. Dark Angel of The Wood
67. Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 by James Preller
A Feiwel and Friends Book
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All rights reserved.
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First hardcover edition, 2019
eBook edition, October 2019
eISBN 9781250174840
James Preller, Blood Mountain
