Emory’s Gift (40 page)
Authors: W. Bruce Cameron
And some things I didn’t make up: the courthouse in Bonners Ferry looks, to me anyway, exactly as I described it. I didn’t invent the Missoula Floods or the fact that logging trucks storm up and down the highways all day long.
Everything I know about how Northern Idaho smells and feels and tastes came from the time I spent at my cousins’ houses in Coeur d’Alene and Priest Lake. Thank you, Cam and Sara, for your hospitality, and for your personal support all these years.
If you’d like to read those two books whose presence Charlie finds so disquieting—the ones written for young readers entitled
General McClellan and the Peninsular Campaign
and
Native American Stories for Boys
—I am sorry to report I fabricated their existence as well. If I made any mistakes about Civil War regiments or battles, I blame the inaccuracies on mistakes contained in the fabricated books.
The grizzly in this story is, of course, a very special bear, so his behavior was mine to invent. But I did, where possible, stick to what I learned about grizzly bears, depending on the work and generosity of others to assist me. It takes years to become a bear expert, however, so if I made any glaring errors I apologize. I heartily recommend
True Grizz,
by Douglas H. Chadwick (Sierra Club Books, September 2003),
The Grizzly Bear,
by Thomas McNamee (The Lyons Press, June 1997), and
The Grizzly Almanac,
by Robert Busch (The Lyons Press, May 2004) as excellent and entertaining resources for learning more about
Ursus arctos horribilis.
I’m also deeply indebted to Chris Morgan, bear ecologist and conservationist and author of
Bears of the Last Frontier
(Stewart, Tabori & Chang, April 2011). Chris was kind enough to answer my questions about grizzlies, which I fear were numerous and grounded in ignorance.
Louis Dorfman gave me tremendous insight as to the behavior of grizzlies who, through no fault of their own, can no longer live in the wild. He is animal behaviorist at International Exotic Animal Sanctuary, Boyd, Texas, (
www.bigcat.org
) and can be found at
www.louisdorfman.com
. Louis is the author of
Dakar, A Wolf’s Adventure
(AuthorHouse, May 2003),
Otters on the Loose
(Windsor House Publishing, February 1998), and
The Fairies’ Quest
(1st Books Library, February 2003).
I never write anything about animals without reading and rereading Temple Grandin’s books
Animals in Translation
(Scribner, December 2004) and
Animals Make Us Human
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, January 2009). Dr. Grandin is a national treasure.
Evie Michon turned to her personal archives and found photographs, magazines, articles, and other items from the early 1970s to help me see the look and understand the talk of the times. Before there was Google, there was Evie.
This novel was something of an artistic risk for me. Thank you to Scott Miller at Trident, and to Linda Quinton and Kristin Sevick at Forge, for encouraging me to think big.
Thank you, Cathryn Michon, for reading, editing, and advising on early drafts. I’d ask you to marry me, but hey, you just did.
So much of the life of one novel flows from what happened with the one that came before it.
Emory’s Gift
was conceived when
A Dog’s Purpose
was not yet even in galleys, but I imagine that if you are reading these words now it may very well be because my first novel led you to take a chance on picking up the second. In the Acknowledgments of
A Dog’s Purpose
I did my best to identify everyone who helped me with that novel, but subsequent to publication there were others who I really need to, well, acknowledge.
Sheryl Johnston, when she’s not terrorizing the streets of Chicago, is simply the best publicist and the best friend anyone could ever want.
Karen Lovell at Forge ran the publicity fort at that end, and I am delighted that you will be working on
Emory’s Gift
as well.
Gavin Polone took
A Dog’s Purpose
to DreamWorks. Thank you, Gavin, and thank you, Steve Fisher, David Boxerbaum, and Steve Younger, for helping to get the deal done.
Norma Vela put me in touch with Temple Grandin—I will always be grateful, Norma. Lisa Nash not only helped me with personal insights into life in Northern Idaho, but she introduced me to Dr. Marty Becker, who was such a strong supporter of
A Dog’s Purpose
. Lisa, I so appreciate everything.
Bob Bridges has done so much for me in the past and, as I write this, has been in the hospital for months, struggling to recover from H1N1. You are in my prayers, Bob.
Thank you, Emma Coleman, for being production assistant on the book trailer we made for
A Dog’s Purpose
.
Claire LaZebnik serves as a sort of one-person writers support group for me. She’s prolific, talented, funny, and a great writer. She’s at
www.clairelazebnik.com
.
Thanks to Hillary Carlip, for her artistic design of
www.adogspurpose.com
and
wbrucecameron.com
. And thanks, Max Lapiduss, for agreeing to marry me.
My own personal rescue squad: Marcia Wallace, Jennifer Altabef, and Julie Cameron. Just like the movie,
I Know What You Did Last Summer
… and I appreciate it so very much. I simply would not have made it without you.
A Dog’s Purpose
was on the
New York Times
Best-Sellers List from the first day it was eligible—that was due to a lot of people doing a lot of work to see that the novel got the attention they felt it deserved. Many of those individuals are the owners and managers of the independent booksellers scattered across the country. Visit them by name on the buy-the-book page of
www.adogspurpose.com
. Geoff Jennings of Rainy Day Books in Fairway, Kansas, in particular, has been my godfather in the world of books. Thank you, Geoff.
Finally, though I am not supposed to be in the “Facebook Generation,” I’m a Baby Boomer, so we’re taking it over like we did everything else. The fans on Facebook’s
A Dog’s Purpose
fan page are the best people in the world, posting pictures of their dogs, supporting each other through hard times, and celebrating the message of
A Dog’s Purpose
. Come hang out with us at
www.facebook.com/adogspurpose
.
W. Bruce Cameron
February 2011
ALSO BY W. BRUCE CAMERON FROM TOM DOHERTY ASSOCIATES
A Dog’s Purpose
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
EMORY’S GIFT
Copyright © 2011 by W. Bruce Cameron
All rights reserved.
A Forge
®
eBook
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
Forge
®
is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
ISBN 978-0-7653-2781-9
First Edition: September 2011
eISBN 978-1-4299-9613-6
First Forge eBook Edition: August 2011