ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

As anyone who has written a novel, play, or other long work will tell you, its creation is a collaborative task. There are so many people to thank for their insights, suggestions, constructive criticisms, and patience in dealing with my effort to create this book. If I’ve left anyone out, I apologize to him or her, but the process of going from first word on the first page of the first draft to last word of what you’re about to read, has taken three years, and I’m sometimes forgetful.

Thanks are due to Rial and Kathy Ellsworth and Ian North for reading the manuscript and offering considered and useful suggestions; my agent, Steven Hutson of WordWise Media for his tenacious pursuit of a publisher; my editor, Jessica Horvath, for her flexibility and her suggestions that have made this a better book; and, above all, to my wife, Roxanna: Some people are gifted with a spouse who believes in them, sometimes more than they believe in themselves. I am blessed with such a gift. Without her love, support, and tireless dedication to me and to the book, it wouldn’t—couldn’t—exist.