In the City of the Nightmare King

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I want to thank Allen Lau and Ivan Yuen for bringing Wattpad into the world and opening the doors for QBIPOC writers like myself. Publishing can be a merciless landscape for minority writers, but Wattpad has always been committed to giving marginalized voices a (large) platform on which to speak.

A big thanks to my two lovely editors, Deanna McFadden and Andrew Wilmot. As someone who has never gone to school for writing, these two handled me with kindness, patience, and care, and they guided me and helped me grow as a writer in more ways than I can easily express. I may have written this book, but it was 100 percent a collaborative project between us three. As an aside, the three of us worked on this book during a pandemic, so yes, these two are beyond golden, and I could probably gush for another few paragraphs about them alone.

I would like to thank Aron Levitz, the head of Wattpad Studios, for believing in my story and working tirelessly to build a platform for marginalized voices to be heard. My talent manager Monica Pacheco, and Rebecca Sands, Paisley McNab, Sarah Salomon, and Allison Dick. Also the marketing team helping me get my name and book out there so marginalized readers can find it: Tina McIntyre, Holley Corfield, Cait Stewart, and Jananie Kulandaivelu, and the amazing cover designer, Laura Mensinga! Too often all the credit goes to the writer, but this story wouldn't be anywhere without all these amazing people lifting it up and carrying it to the finish line. I am endlessly grateful for the time and love they've shown me and my project.

Working on this during a pandemic wouldn't have been possible without my wonderfully gentle and patient partner, who provides me with the material and emotional support I need to pursue this career. They are the biggest reason I am able to write, and even when it looked like our investment wouldn't pay off, they have always encouraged me to keep pushing, keep writing, because they knew it was my greatest passion. Without them, I would be completely lost.

Also, I want to thank my gay wizards. You're the reason I do this, and every day I work harder at sharpening my writing skills and storytelling abilities, not because I want to be famous—y'all already know how shy I am—but because I want to entertain you, and I want you to feel proud that believing in me was worth your time. My gay wizards have reached out to me, asked me how I was doing during this pandemic; they've been my friends and talked to me online and promoted me tirelessly, and I love all of them for believing in me and believing in I'm a Gay Wizard. You've all changed my world, and I don't think a paragraph in an acknowledgments section will ever be enough to convey how grateful I am. But the same as before, I didn't write this book alone, we all did, together.