isnât walking well yet, so theyâre in the wheelchair-accessible seating at the top of the stands. Abby waves. Jeremyâs wearing his Strathmore uniform and his varsity swimming jacket.
Droid is with our new coach and the rest of the team. Heâs wearing his Sharks swim cap.
My lane is in front of me, blue water rippling. This is my world. I lean forward and let my fingers skim the starting block. Iâm focused. Ready.
Iâm on the team. Iâm a Shark, but Iâll never call myself that, not after everything that happened.
Iâm not a shark. Iâm something better, stronger, faster.
Me.
Acknowledgments
In this, as in all writing projects, huge thanks must go to my wonderful writing group, Critical Ms. When Haze was being edited, CM included Anne Louise Currie, Kimberly Gerson (the Americanisms expert), Kathy Himbeault, Jason Pyper, Gwynn Scheltema, Jocelyne Stone, Bill Swan, Gavy Swan and Ruth Walker, but Iâve learned from all CMers along the way. Thanks also to those in the Mabelâs Fables workshop led by Peter Carver for helping with some tricky scenes. Especially, thank you to Karen Rankin for the rescue read.
Thank you to Susan and Henry BlakeneyâSue for invaluable feedback and encouragement and cookies, and Henry for being a one-man Wikipedia when I needed it.
Cathy Gerroir, private swim teacher and coach with the Whitby Dolphins swim team, thank you for being so generous with your time and knowledge. I love your passion for swimming. This book only scratches the surface of the world you showed me.
Thank you also to Karen Hansen-Cowper of Trafalgar Castle School, and Gary Godkin of St. Andrewâs College, for being so gracious and open and for taking the time to introduce me to the workings of private-school life. I came away with an even greater respect for your schools and for the people who work there.
Thank you, Alix (Dr. Alix Carter if weâre being formal, but why start now?), for letting me pick your brain for the details around Jeremyâs accident. It worries me how much fun you seemed to have with that.
And Mike Thomas, thanks for helping me get the weight room scenes right, and for being a great brother. But donât tell anyone I said that. Thanks also to Mikeâs friend Bram Peters for allowing me to borrow your name. Itâs a cool name. I hope you approve of the character I gave it to.
Thank you to my agent, Monica Pacheco of Anne McDermid & Associates Literary Agency, and especially to wonderful editor (and fearless rescuer of wasps), Christi Howes, and to all the team at Orca.
And finally, thank you to my family, Aaron and Sarah. For everything.
Erin Thomas is the author of several books for children and teens. She loves to read, especially stories with lots of adventure. She enjoyed learning more about swimming for Haze , although her own swimming career never went past a lopsided crawl. Part of the inspiration for Haze came from Erinâs own experiences with hazing at university.
She lives in her hometown of Whitby, Ontario, with her husband, their daughter, a small gray cat and a large black dog. Both the cat and the dog hate to swim.
To learn more about Erin and her books, please visit www.erinthomas.ca .
SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD RYAN IS DETERMINED to be a professional snowboarder, but heâs learned from what happened to his father that doing the right thing can get you in trouble. So when his board is stolen, and he discovers that his cousin knows more than he should about recent criminal activity at the ski resort, Ryan has to choose between career and family, and hope that, for him, doing the right thing will pay off.
Titles in the Series
o rca sp o rts
Absolute Pressure
Sigmund Brouwer
All-Star Pride
Sigmund Brouwer
Blazer Drive
Sigmund Brouwer
Boarder Patrol
Erin Thomas
Chief Honor
Sigmund Brouwer
Cobra Strike
Sigmund Brouwer
Crossover
Jeff Rud
Dawn Patrol
Jeff Ross
Dead in the Water
Robin
Elizabeth Haynes
Rebecca Lisle
Kels Barnholdt
Ann King
J.J. Bryant
Ann B Harrison
Mary Wine
Joseph Kim
JM Gulvin
Kasey Michaels