I like to think that he did.
As for Bizzy, she’s still as nutty as ever, but I can’t imagine life without her.
The Death Catcher/Keeper thing is still not normal to me yet, but it’s getting there. In fact, just this morning I had my third death-specter while I was reading the comics.
But don’t worry, Mrs. Tweedy. It’s not you. Of course, I couldn’t tell you if it were. Life’s a gift, so why waste it thinking about all the bad things that might happen? I can’t help but believe whatever time we have here together is better spent thinking about all the good things we can make happen.
I guess you could call that one of Lizzy’s pearls, free a’ charge.
Anyway, even if my latest death-specter were about you, Mrs. Tweedy, I wouldn’t worry too much. The Die-namic Duo’s on the case, after all.
Acknowledgments
I want to thank my parents, Clare and John Kogler, for the countless story conferences and their unflagging enthusiasm. I am, indeed, the luckiest.
A number of people were incredibly helpful as first readers as I wrote The Death Catchers, including Lizzy McCloskey (whose name I borrowed as well), Kristy Cole, Jodi Wu, Mary Steffens, Lisa Hart, and Bradford Lyman. Marnie Podos helped me deliver the knockout blow.
Though my first introduction to all things Arthurian was most likely Monty Python and the Holy Grail on television, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the many wonderfully talented authors who made the Arthurian legend their own before I did. These books have inspired me as both a girl and an adult, including Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae, Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, T. H. White’s The Once and Future King, and Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon.
When I began to write this story, I was making a number of appearances at middle schools across the country. I want to thank the long list of welcoming librarians, English teachers, and other educators, who do vital and greatly underappreciated work, as well as the many bright students I met along the way. I hope Mrs. Mortimer, Jodi, Lizzy, and the gang do you all proud.
Many thanks to my wise editor, Emily Easton, for all the guidance and faith and, finally, the magnificent Faye Bender, without whose help affording health insurance would be a mere pipe dream.
Copyright © 2011 by Jennifer Anne Kogler
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
First published in the United States of America in August 2011
by Walker Publishing Company, Inc., a division of Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc. E-book edition published in August 2011
www.bloomsburyteens.com
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Walker BFYR, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010
Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Kogler, Jennifer Anne.
The Death Catchers / by Jennifer Anne Kogler.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-8027-2184-6 (hardcover)
[1. Death—Fiction. 2. Grandmothers—Fiction. 3. Supernatural—Fiction. 4. Lady of the Lake (Legendary character)—Fiction. 5. Morgan le Fay (Legendary character)—Fiction. 6. California—Fiction. 7. Letters.] I. Title.
PZ7.K8215De 2011 [Fic]-dc22 2010031904
ISBN 978-0-8027-2343-7 (e-book)
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Contents
Dedication
Epigraph
The Prologue
The Setting
The Mood
Foreshadowing
The Protagonist
Conflict
Transitions
The Making of an Epiphany
Fragments
Translations
Redundancy and Repetition
The Archetype
Oral Tradition
Irony
Alliteration
Personification
Aphorisms—Bizzy’s Best Pearls
Brainstorming
The Analysis
The Antagonist
Dialogue
Cacophony
Wordy
Proofreading
The Nemesis I Didn’t Know I Had
Point of View
Persuasion
The Personification of a Secret
Suspending Disbelief
Revision
Onomatopoeia
Pathetic Fallacy
The Climax
A Metaphor Before Dying
Legends, Old and New
The Paradox
The Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Imprint