“Pardon me!” Diane says, putting a hand to her chest like she’s just seen a ghost, before disappearing down the hall. I’m left standing there, my mouth hanging open, all the things I’ve always wanted to say to her running through my mind on repeat.
“A little starstruck?” a PA wearing a headset asks as she walks by.
“I’m her biggest fan,” I whisper.
The PA stops. “Aren’t you a little young to be a fan of Diane?” She winks.
“What is she doing here?” I ask, choosing this time to ignore the joke.
“She’s interviewing Lucy Keating. She’s the author who wrote—”
“I know who she is,” I say curtly.
The PA nods. “Well, she’s on set today, and Diane was in town for some awards ceremony. They decided to shoot the interview here. If you go quickly, you might be able to catch some of it.”
I hesitate, not wanting to miss Sam and Elliot’s big moment.
“Go,” Elliot says, coming up behind me and giving me a kiss on the cheek before reaching for a bagel. “We aren’t shooting for another hour anyway.”
“I love you,” I tell him. And then I start to run.
“It’s an honor to host you on our show today,” Diane Sawyer tells her guest. “Congrats on the success of Across the Sea. Everyone is very excited for the movie. I think I may have used up an entire box of tissues when I read the book.”
“It’s a pleasure to be here, Diane,” Lucy Keating says, looking beautiful and confident in a chic gray blouse and her signature red lipstick. Her glasses are new, I notice. Now they’re tortoiseshell.
“Before we get into the film, I know everyone in the audience has one question on their minds: Are you working on anything new?” Diane crosses her legs elegantly, letting one hand rest gingerly in her lap. Books could be written on her composure, I think.
“I’ve got a project in the works,” Lucy says. “I can’t really talk about it yet, but I can say that I’m aging up a bit. This one takes place in college.”
A familiar, prickly feeling starts to meander up my spine.
“How exciting!” Diane exclaims. “Will there be romance?”
Lucy smirks.
I roll my eyes. Next to me, a girl walks by, talking loudly into her cell phone. “He was literally the hottest guy I’ve ever seen,” she says, and I want to tell her that’s not actually what the word means, but stop myself. Our entire generation is misusing it anyway. What’s the harm in living outside the lines?
Acknowledgments
My editors: Sara Shandler, Hayley Wagreich, Jocelyn Davies—this book is as much yours as it is mine. Thank you for seeing me through this process and approaching every draft with true enthusiasm, no matter how much our heads were hurting. I learn from each and every note you make on the page, even when I fight you on it at first (particularly when I haven’t had my coffee yet—sorry about that).
My thought partners: Josh Bank, you weirdo, for having a dream where I kidnapped one of my characters, the impetus for this whole crazy thing. Joelle Hobeika for, as usual, wrangling us all back to Earth.
My agent: Pete Knapp, for coming onto the scene and making everything better, when all I could give him in return was ice cream. And, of course, for introducing me to Louis the Dog, Napoleon’s kindred spirit.
My roomie: Zana Lawrence, for sharing my wall, and for reminding me that we’re all just doing our best.
My parents: Marty and Mike, for telling me that sometimes, you know what? It’s okay to turn something in late.
My family unit: Mom, Dad, Mike, Andy, Shannon, Laura, for never making me feel bad about spending holidays at the library, instead of where I really wanted to be—watching movies on the couch with you.
My friends: You know who you are. For your forgiveness, your wisdom, your unconditional love.
Dave Ferino: for introducing me to Animal Man!
My first high school English teacher: Meredith Price, who made Andover feel like so much less of a scary place.
My heartthrobs: the ones who’ve made me smile and made me cry, the ones who’ve showed up in tuxedos on Valentine’s Day, the ones who never got on the plane, and the ones who did.
And Ernie Bear: The sweetest, tiniest beast of all.
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About the Author
Photo © Kimber Brown Studio
LUCY KEATING is a New Englander who fell in love with California and now lives in San Francisco. When she’s not writing, Lucy is probably walking her dog, listening to music, or eating ice cream. One of these things is almost always true, and on a particularly great day, all are true. She is also the author of Dreamology. Visit Lucy at www.lucykeating.com.
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Books by Lucy Keating
Dreamology
Credits
Cover art by Roberta Zeta
Cover design by Elaine C. Damasco
Copyright
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.
HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
LITERALLY. Copyright © 2017 by Alloy Entertainment. 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, 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 hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2016958062
EPub Edition © March 2017 ISBN 9780062380067
ISBN 978-0-06-238004-3
17 18 19 20 21 PC/LSCH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
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