Indigo Awakening (The Hunted (Teen)) (26 page)

Acknowledgments

Real life and headlines often inspire my books and this time is no exception. Conspiracy theorists have linked the CIA, the UN and the Pentagon to the phenomenon known as “Indigo or Crystal Children,” a concept heavily queried on the internet with thousands of websites and resources to research the topic. Query
Crystal child
online and you will get millions upon millions of hits. Indigo kids have been featured on mainstream TV and in dozens of newspapers and movies.

For the purposes of fiction, I took liberties in my portrayal of this phenomenon, but Indigo kids are generally described as highly intelligent, gifted teen psychics with a bright “indigo” aura and a mission to save the world. They have high IQs, have been known to see angels and commune with the dead. Because they are frequently misunderstood, they are diagnosed by therapists and doctors as having attention deficit or behavioral disorders and are often medicated.

Are Indigo children real or are they manipulated by adults to believe their sensitivities are special? Are they dysfunctional misfits or saviors who must be respected as the next evolution of mankind? You decide, but I find the notion of an evolution for mankind very intriguing.

The best part of writing a book comes from those who help or add to the inspiration. They can make things gel for an author. A fellow YA author inspired my villain, O’Dell. To thank him, I gave him what he’d always wanted—a bunker. I gave O’Dell a nasty sidekick, Boelens. Since this is fiction, I made Boelens quite dastardly, when in reality he is one of my favorite people on the planet.

In the first chapter, I mention a pop-punk band, Archimedes Watch Out, a group from Lubbock, Texas. Friend them on Twitter or find them on MySpace. They are seriously awesome and quite real, unless they are onstage, when they turn into Rock Gods. Whenever AWO comes to my city, they have a place to stay and play, even at two in the morning.
Love you guys!

Thanks always to my family—my mom and dad, sisters and brothers, and dear friends. To my best friend and love of my life, my husband, John, I couldn’t do this without you. For Kathryn, this time I gave you a tiara. When mentioning thanks to my family, I include my amazing agent with a big heart, Meredith Bernstein. I also include my talented editor, Mary-Theresa Hussey at Harlequin. Matrice, you have a gift for collaborating that I dearly love. Thanks for your magic touch. And my gratitude to Natashya Wilson, her amazing team at Harlequin Teen and the best PR person ever, Lisa Wray. You guys
ROCK!

ISBN: 9781460300428

Copyright © 2013 by Cosas Finas

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