Tru and Nelle Read online

  A huge thanks goes to Jennifer Fox, my go-to friend and former editor, who is also my good-luck charm. Every one of my stories that she’s loved has sold. Her insight is invaluable.

  Thanks to the copyeditor Tracy Roe for a terrific job making my manuscript clearer and more readable, and to the illustrator Sarah Watts and the HMH design team for making everything look great. Thanks to Charles J. Shields, Tal Nadan and the Truman Capote Papers at the New York Public Library Archives, and Alan U. Schwartz, the literary executor for the Truman Capote Estate, for their help in securing the images above.

  To my agent, Edward Necarsulmer IV, a big thanks for thinking I wasn’t crazy for wanting to do this. He too felt the magic and kept on the case until the story found its rightful home. 3-4-3, E!

  To Julia Richardson, who at first reluctantly rejected an early draft of the story until we discussed it and found out we were much closer of mind than she’d thought. After a short revision with her input, she and HMH loved it. Her fondness and enthusiasm for the characters matched mine and gave these lovable misfits a perfect home.

  As always, most important, my utmost gratitude to my wife, Maggie, and daughter, Zola, who continue to keep me grounded, reminding me daily of what really matters in life. Without them, none of this would happen.

  And finally, to Nelle Harper Lee and the late Truman Capote, for inspiring me and millions of readers out there.

  About the Author

  G. NERI is the Coretta Scott King Honor–winning author of Yummy and the recipient of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award for his free-verse novella, Chess Rumble. His other books include the Horace Mann Upstander Award–winning Ghetto Cowboy, as well as a free-verse picture book biography, Hello, I’m Johnny Cash, which was a Florida Book Award winner. Prior to becoming a writer, Neri was a filmmaker, animator, illustrator, and a digital media producer. Neri currently writes full-time and lives on the Gulf Coast of Florida with his wife and daughter.

  Find him online at www.gneri.com