The Eighth Day
Page 22
“Be serious,” Evangeline said in an exasperated voice. But she was biting her lip and trying not to laugh. He recognized the expression from the pepper-spray incident.
“Okay. Seriously, then. I decline your offer of release.” Jax said it solemnly and formally, using the words Riley had given him to say. When he saw the relief in her eyes, he grinned and used his own words.
“You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
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Acknowledgments
I’d like to thank my agent, Sara Crowe, and all the wonderful editors of HarperCollins who helped me make The Eighth Day the best book it could be: Alexandra Cooper, Alyssa Miele, Barbara Lalicki, and Andrew Harwell. I also want to thank my husband, Bob Salerni, who took me to Mexico to climb the Pyramid of the Sun; our tour guide, Alvaro Arestegui, who taught me the history of the place; and my brother-in-law, Larry O’Donnell, who helped me plan a military assault on it. I owe thanks to my daughter, Gina, the very first reader for every chapter of this book, and my daughter, Gabrielle, who designed Jax Aubrey’s mark. A big thank you also goes to my critique partners, Krystalyn Drown and Marcy Hatch, as well as my beta readers: Henry Becker, Gwen Dandridge, Lenny Lee, Katie Mills, Susan Kaye Quinn, Mary Waibel, and Maria Ann Witt.
A very special thank-you is owed to my reading classes from the 2012–2013 school year. These students were “handcuffed” to me and dragged along on my publication adventure. They cheered me on through every step in the process! Thank you, Jimmy, Matt B., Isabel, Rachael, Valerie, Isaac, Joey, Miranda, Josh P., Zach R., Aidan, Angelo, Kyle, Javi, Darrien, James, Shelby, Kira, Luis, Alexa C., Matt C., Mike, Zoe, Chase, Matt H., Patrick, Laura, Katie, Savannah, Abby, Owen, Josh M., Alex, Macie, Grace, Brayden, Nathan, Chris, Karl, David, Lauren, Alexa Y., and Sabriya.
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About the Author
DIANNE K. SALERNI lives in Chester County, Pennsylvania, with her husband and two daughters. She’s been teaching fourth and fifth grades for over twenty years and is the author of several books, including We Hear the Dead and The Caged Graves. Though she knows the Eighth Day doesn’t exist, she secretly hopes to someday discover one so she can find the time to grade all her students’ papers. Learn more about Dianne at www.diannesalerni.com.
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Copyright
THE EIGHTH DAY. Copyright © 2014 by Dianne K. Salerni. 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 hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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ISBN 978-0-06-227215-7 (trade bdg.)
EPub Edition October 2013 ISBN 9780062272157
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