by Simon Curtis
To my publisher, Mara Anastas. I know that in publishing, the greatest support often comes from the top down, so thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for supporting this book the way that you have. I’m also so very thrilled to now have the real Liz Lemon in my life.
Mary Marotta, thank you.
To Liesa Abrams and Sarah McCabe, thank you for stepping into some huge shoes and doing everything you could to soften the blow of losing my editor. I’m so grateful to you both.
To Will Staehle, I will never be able to thank you enough for the million pieces of incredible art you created for this book, and especially for its jaw-dropping cover. I feel so lucky to have your work sitting atop a creation of my own.
Russell Gordon and Steve Scott, thank you for putting all of this together and designing it so beautifully.
Carolyn Swerdloff, Lucille Rettino, Tara Grieco, Catherine Hayden, and Chelsea Fought in marketing, THANK YOU. I have always heard horror stories about marketing a book, but you have all made me feel so supported and believed in. I am beyond honored to have your wonderful ideas and enthusiasm. Truly.
Jennifer Romanello and Jodie Hockensmith in publicity, thank you for talking to me far earlier than any author should expect to talk to his publisher’s PR team. You’ve made this a wonderful experience for me.
Michelle Leo and your amazing team in education/library, Christina Pecorale and your incredible team in sales, Katherine Devendorf and Mandy Veloso in managing editorial. Thank you all.
To the love of my life, Jordie Caskey. You’ve taught me more about what it means to be human than any person ever has. You know how real magic is and see God in everything. I am so grateful for you.
To my best friend, Corey Gibson. Thank you for believing in me more than what should be humanly possible. I’m so lucky to have you and your incredible ideas at work in spreading the message of this book, and I am more grateful than I’ll ever be able to say. Thank you as well, Mary Robinson.
To everyone at the It Gets Better Project. Thank you for what you do. I am honored to align myself with your cause, and only hope that this book can help in some small way to spread your message.
Finally, most importantly, thank you, Michael Strother. Without you this book would still be an outline of ideas and fifty pages of manuscript, left waiting in various hard drives and journals scattered across my room. I can’t believe the kind supporter of my music with the cupcake avatar on Twitter eventually became one of the most important people in my life, ever. I am in awe of your work ethic and your talent, and I will never be able to say thank you enough for truly making this dream come true.
I wrote this book, and the series beyond it, as a means of inspiring hope in young people. Kids who feel like outcasts, disenfranchised, like I did when I was younger. I wanted to tell a story about the power inside those things that make us different, and how capable we are of reshaping our lives once we embrace those things and harness that power. I love knowing that an organization like the It Gets Better Project is out there, working hard to share that very same message, and I’m so honored that Boy Robot gets to work with them to continue sharing it.
—Simon Curtis
The power of storytelling is embraced by the It Gets Better Project, not only as a vehicle for support, but also to further our mission to inspire hope and create change for LGBTQ young people around the world. Simon Curtis himself represents the It Gets Better message. He has experienced and overcome tremendous obstacles to get to where he is today. He is now endowed with the insights to weave his life lessons into a wonderfully entertaining piece of fiction. The It Gets Better Project congratulates Simon for his resiliency and perspective and is thrilled to be a part of the Boy Robot experience.
Simon Curtis was born in Michigan and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was diagnosed with leukemia at age ten and began performing in musical theater and opera that same year. He was the happiest bald, chemotherapy-addled cancer patient ever seen onstage. At eighteen, he moved to LA. After various roles on Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, Simon left acting to pursue music, releasing his first album, 8bit Heart, as a free download, followed by his second album, RA, which landed at number twenty on Billboard's Dance & Electronic Albums chart. Simon continues to write and release music as an independent recording artist, and looks forward to his new chapter as an author. Above all else, he strives to inspire hope in young people.
Boy Robot is his first novel.
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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First Simon Pulse hardcover edition October 2016
Text copyright © 2016 by Simon Curtis
Jacket illustration copyright © 2016 by Will Staehle
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Jacket designed by Russell Gordon
Interior designed by Steve Scott
Author photo is by Stephen Busken
The text of this book was set in Melior.
This book has been cataloged with the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-4814-5929-7 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4814-5931-0 (eBook)
