Amy Plum - After the End

I close my eyes as my spirit disconnects from the Yara. I feel myself emerge from the otherworldly haze of my trance. And as I do, the weight of the decision I just made presses down on me, crippling me with fear. What have I done?

The only thing you could do , I tell myself. I open my eyes and look out upon the landscape before me—the flat, barren wasteland with rolling red hills far in the distance.

Besides the desert animals, I am the only living, breathing thing for miles around. I sit in the doorway and wait.

EB ARTICLE FOR EDITOR: “EVERY PUBLISHING house has manufacturing, marketing, and accounts departments, but the heart of the business lies in the editorial function.” Tara Weikum, you have been the heart of my five books. Not only having the vision to imbue them with coherency and life but providing the love needed to make my projects grow.

EB article for agent: “The relationship that exists when one person engages another to act for him—e.g., to do his work, to sell his goods, to manage his business.” Stacey Glick, you are an agent extraordinaire, finding the perfect home for Juneau and her clan.

I will now switch to the E(ncyclopedia) P(lum), since the rest of the clan’s EB collection seems to have been destroyed by brigands.

EP for beta reader: Claudia Depkin. Also known as she-who-has-more-patience-than-the-gods. (Not that they’re renowned for their patience, but you get the idea.) Thank you for having the very first look at everything once again, for asking the right questions, and for prodding me into action.

EP for copyeditors: Valerie Shea and Melinda Weigel. Thank you for correcting the SAME errors book after book, for making sense of my French-addled English, (“This is not a word.”), and for finding the inconsistencies that my ADD brain flings left and right on the page.

EP for assistant editor: Christopher Hernandez, or he-who-always-finds-the-perfect-word. Chris, your suggestions for After the End were spot-on. You ask the right questions and concoct the perfect solutions. Thank you!

EP for mistress-of-the-road-trip: that certain cousin who drives with you from Seattle to Albuquerque just so you can follow your protagonists’ route while taking notes on the flora, fauna, and very strange habitants along the way. Diana, wish we could do one of these every year.

EP for Wereboar Sisterhood: a group of writers who, after sharing a den for a week, discovered they were long-lost pack members. Merci, my sisters-in-taxidermy, for all of the support, love, and Kleenexes.

EP for Hotel Eldorado: a hotel in the Clichy neighborhood of Paris that was the frequent habitation of Amy Plum when she needed a far-away Batcave in which to conceive the ideas behind After the End . Don’t look for the one in Idaho, but if you find it, be extra careful when making private phone calls.

EP for loyal readers: you are the reason my job is fun. Thank you for your enduring support and enthusiasm for my stories.

AMY PLUMis the international bestselling author of the Die for Me series. She lives in Paris. You can visit Amy online at www.amyplumbooks.comor on Twitter @AmyPlumOhLaLa.

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Die for Me

Until I Die

If I Should Die

Die for Her: A Die for Me Digital Novella

HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

AFTER THE END. Copyright © 2014 by Amy Plum. 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, downloaded, 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 hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

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Library of Congress catalog card number: TK

ISBN 978-0-06-222560-3 (trade bdg.)

EPub Edition October 2013 ISBN 9780062225603

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FIRST EDITION

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