Ensnared

He lifts my hand and presses soft lips to the scars that mar my palm. “I always knew you would,” he teases. Then he smiles, his jewels glistening gold and bright.

Do

“Shall we dance in the clouds, luv?” my King asks.

I remember a vision from a lifetime ago—our souls and bodies bared to a brilliant inferno—and answer, “I want to waltz on the sun.”

And there, in the midst of blinding orange, yellow, and white flames, our forever begins.

First and foremost, gratitude to my family for turning a blind eye to dusty furniture, mountains of laundry, and TV di

Hugs and a hat tip to my Agent Goddess, Je

Thank you to the prestigious Abrams family: Maggie Lehrman, Tamar Brazis, Nicole Sclama, and countless copyeditors and proofreaders for helping me polish each diamond in the rough until they sparkle and shine. Also, gratitude to Laura Mihalick and Morgan Dubin, my in-house publicists; printing press specialists who oversee the pages and special effects; marketing advisors; and everyone who plays a part behind the scenes in the making of the books.

A deep bow to Maria Middleton, designer extraordinaire, who always finds the perfect symbolism for each cover, and to Nathália Suellen, one of the most talented artists I’ve ever encountered. You made me believe in magic by breathing life into my characters via your enchanted artistry.

A standing ovation to my local crit group, the Divas: Linda Castillo, Je

High fives and hugs to my online critters and beta readers: Rookie (aka Bethany Crandell), the White Chocolate to my Godiva; POM (aka Jessica Nelson), who loves coffee and brownie mix almost as much as I do; Stacee (aka @book_junkee), for cheering me on (if anyone could convince me to trade my parasol for an orange jumpsuit, it would be you); Owly (aka Ashlee Supringer), for knowing my characters almost better than I do; Marlene Ruggles, whose keen eye is always on the lookout for unseen typos; and Chris Lapel, my number one fan.

Head butts to my #Goatposse, who are wiser and fu

A hearty shout-out to the Twitter Splintered RP players who made the wait for Ensnared bearable and fun for the fans: @Splintered-Crew, @LongLiveTheMuse, @AlyssaPaints, @PunkPrincessJen, @seductive_fae, @MorphTheMoth, @NetherlingQueen, @splinteredivory, @tyedribbions, @RabbitNotBeMe, @taelor_tremont, @ ChevyLovingJock, and @ChessieBlud.

Thank you to Nikki Wang at Fiction Freak, my very first mothling, who lent me her name for a sprite both sweet and fierce, much like her namesake. Also, thanks to Sarah Kate for bringing my characters to life via adorable plushie counterparts.

My respect and awe to all of the talented fans who send artwork for my Pinterest board and write incredible fan fiction, thus allowing my characters to breathe outside of the books’ pages.

Thanks to Jaime and Rachel at RockStar Book Tours for mastering the blog tour ropes and being so supportive and generous with their time.

A debt of gratitude to Lewis Carroll and Tim Burton for inspiring me to dive headfirst into this weird and twisted Wonderland world.

And last but not least, gratefulness to the One who gives me the ability to write and continues to fill my creative well with characters and stories, each waiting for their turn to be told.

A. G. Howard wrote Splintered while working at a school library. She always wondered what would’ve happened if Alice had grown up and the subtle creepiness of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland had taken center stage in her story, and she hopes her darker and funkier tribute to Carroll will inspire readers to seek out the stories that won her heart as a child. She lives in Amarillo, Texas.

This book was designed by Maria T. Middleton.

Its production was overseen by Elizabeth Peskin.