The Stars Below, page 36
part #4 of Vega Jane Series
whist ′wist
A large, domesticated hound of Wormwood known for its impressive speed.
Wugmort (Wug for short) ′wəg-mort (′wəg)
A citizen of Wormwood.
Writing the fourth and final installment of the Vega Jane saga was both euphoric and bittersweet for obvious reasons. I will miss Vega and her cohorts and the fantasy world they inhabit. But the good news is I still get to hang out with all the cool and supremely talented people listed below, who helped mightily in bringing Vega’s world to all of you.
To Rachel Griffiths, you have been so wonderful and made the experience of publishing Vega as good as it could be. For that I thank you. And I look forward to many more sessions of Ritz-Bits!
To David Levithan, Julie Amitie, Charisse Meloto, Dick Robinson, Ellie Berger, Lori Benton, Maya Marlette, Dave Ascher, Elizabeth Parisi, Jackie Hornberger, Jessica White, Joy Simpkins, Kerianne Steinberg, Sarah Jospitre, Evangelos Vasilakis, Melissa Schirmer, Alan Smagler, Sue Flynn, Nikki Mutch and the whole sales team at Scholastic, for being truly a dream publisher. I hope we can do it again one day.
To Venetia Gosling, Alyx Price, Kat McKenna, Amber Ivatt, Sarah Clarke, Jade Tolley, Charlotte Williams, Rachel Vale, Tracey Ridgewell, Daniel Jenkins, Anthony Forbes Watson, Jeremy Trevathan, Trisha Jackson, Katie James, Alex Saunders, Sara Lloyd, Claire Evans, Sarah Arratoon, Stuart Dwyer, Jonathan Atkins, Anna Bond, Leanne Williams, Natalie McCourt, Stacey Hamilton, Sarah McLean, Charlotte Williams and Neil Lang at Pan Macmillan, for bravely going where this author had never gone before.
To Steven Maat and the entire Bruna team, for bringing Vega to Holland.
To Aaron Priest, for always having my back.
To Arleen Priest, Mitch Hoffman, Lucy Childs, Lisa Erbach Vance, Frances Jalet-Miller, John Richmond and Juliana Nador, for being great advocates and, more importantly, dear friends.
To Sandy Violette and Caspian Dennis, for working seamlessly with the crazy Yanks!
To Kristen White and Michelle Butler, for doing what you do better than anyone else.
David Baldacci is a global #1 bestselling author. His books are published in over forty-five languages and in more than eighty countries, with over 130 million worldwide sales. His works have been adapted for both feature film and television. He is also the cofounder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation®, which supports literacy efforts across America. David and his family live in Virginia.
Also in the Vega Jane series
The Finisher (Vega Jane Book One)
The Keeper (Vega Jane Book Two)
The Width of the World (Vega Jane Book Three)
Copyright © 2019 by Columbus Rose, Ltd.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
First edition, March 2019
Cover art by Jacey @ début art, © 2019 Scholastic Inc.
Cover design by Elizabeth B. Parisi Author photo by Alexander James
e-ISBN 978-1-338-26396-1
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David Baldacci, The Stars Below
