Pretty Little Lion by Suleikha Snyder
Acknowledgments
Writing a book in a normal year is a challenge. Writing a book during the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 election cycle was probably the most painful thing I’ve ever done. And that includes the time I cracked a rib tripping on the sidewalk. (Moral of that story: drop the pizza box and save yourself!) That ache eventually went away. This was months upon months of creative struggle chased with despair and depression. I honestly wasn’t sure I’d ever finish Pretty Little Lion. I thought my writing career was coming to an end. Sometimes I still think that. Particularly as the world around us continues to grapple with COVID and political strife and racist violence and natural disasters. (Yes, I’m a proud SJW—a social justice warrior—and if you’ve made it all the way to this page, I assume you figured that out already.)
But I’m very lucky in that I have people around me who remind me again and again why we keep fighting and why romance authors write the books we do. Because hope is always an option. And so is love. That’s the message I want readers to take away from the Third Shift series. Sure, I’m penning lusty over-the-top plots, but there’s a lot of reality in these stories as well. Too much for some people—and that’s okay. I get it. There’s nothing wrong with wanting pure escapism in romance novels. I’m often in the mood for those myself! But with Third Shift, I’m writing my way through the darkness, not around it. Because I have to believe that hope and love will win out in the end, not just for my characters but for all of us.
And that’s enough maudlin navel-gazing out of me! Let’s get to the fun stuff! As you might guess, I took some liberties with a few things in Pretty Little Lion—from super serums to government and military doings to how tech doohickeys work. There’s no spy hideout at an equestrian center or secret training camp in Sikkim, and if shady dudes are having coke parties in Midtown hotels, I’ve never personally witnessed them. I’ve definitely made the walk from 8th Avenue to 11th Avenue in Manhattan late at night, but I’ve never been to the Finger Lakes.
The beautiful poem excerpted at the beginning, by Bangladeshi poet laureate Kazi Nazrul Islam, is one I had to memorize as a kid and perform in front of people. In the original Bengali, not English! (Please don’t ask me to do that now. I would fail miserably!) Apsaras are a real part of South Asian and Southeast Asian mythology—albeit not quite so murder-y. That is purely my own invention. While Meghna and Big Bad Wolf’s Neha are from different parts of South Asia than I am and as different from each other as night from day, they both reflect some of my own experiences growing up in the United States. South Asian American people aren’t a monolith, but there are ties that bind us, rooted in both worlds. And I firmly believe that those of us with privilege need to reckon with it and use it for good.
Maybe that’s also a little bit of why I write these books. And the result, Pretty Little Lion, wouldn’t be here without help and input from so many people. It took a village that spanned a decent chunk of North America. Audra North read the earliest version of Meghna and Elijah’s story, back in 2015 when the characters were human. So did Elizabeth Kerri Mahon, who later did a read on the almost-final edition. Thank you both! Charlotte Stein, Jackie Barbosa, and Sarah Title also put eyes on this iteration of PLL for me. I appreciate that more than I can possibly say. Rock stars (block stars?) Melissa Blue and Ishara Deen patiently Skyped me through some huge writers’ block moments, and Zoe Archer saved me with last-minute writing sprints. Oniel Young Jr. has my eternal gratitude for basically life-coaching me and this book through 2020. Michelle Bell and Barnes made me smile when I needed it, as did Dave. My South Asian writing sisters lifted me up and also gave me a safe place to fall—from group texts and video chats to TikTok lessons and fielding my frantic phone calls. Nisha, Sonali, Alisha, Namrata, Mona, Tahmina, Kishan, Sophia, Sona, Farah, and Falguni…I’m so blessed to know you all!
Of course I must thank my agent Courtney Miller-Callihan for always fighting for me and lending a supportive ear when needed. And thank you to my editors at Sourcebooks Casablanca, Mary K. Altman and Christa Désir, as well as Jessica Smith, Diane Dannenfeldt, Stefani Sloma, Katie Stutz, Sabrina Baskey, and everyone else at Casa who helped shape PLL into the book you have in your hands right now. A special thanks to designer Stephanie Gafron and illustrator Kris Keller for the gorgeous cover art that graces both Big Bad Wolf and Pretty Little Lion. Tessera Editorial’s sensitivity readers have also been an invaluable resource for this series, and I can’t recommend them enough!
Finally, I want to shout-out my big brother, who has always had my back—but is still not allowed to read my books. Oh, and Baby Yoda! Because shouldn’t we all thank Baby Yoda for getting us through 2019 and 2020? (I’m still not calling him Grogu.)
Xoxo,
Suleikha Snyder, Chicago, IL, April 2021