The first person to thank is my editor, Russell Smith, who reached into a black hole and pulled out a book. Thank you, Russell, for your guidance, your patience, and your humour.
I’m grateful to my editorial consultant, Joel Pylyshyn, for his insight, generous intelligence, and hilarious, decades-long friendship.
I am in debt to these true-blue humans, for encouraging, entertaining, consoling, or just generally keeping the author upright and semi-functional at one time or another during the long gestation of Seven Down: Alex Boyd, Andrew Daley, Bonnie Bowman, Jonathan Dewdney, Liz Howard, Margie Borschke, Phil Saunders, and, of course, Waneta Storms (and Avie and Lou).
Love to my family for their nonstop support: Wells, Donna, Janet, Jim, John, Tina, Bob, Donna, and, especially, Sharon Lea and Tom, for feeding, watering, and wisely counselling me during the plague. Reluctantly tolerated hugs to my two marvellous pretzels, Wallace and Ellroy.
Thanks to Catherine Bush, an early reader and the coordinator of the Creative Writing MFA at the University of Guelph, where this story was first conceived.
Huge gratitude to the next-level earthlings of Dundurn Press: Scott Fraser, Jenny McWha, Sara D’Agostino, Laura Boyle, and Kristina Jagger, as well as Catharine Chen and Shari Rutherford. Thanks to all of you!