Who do I thank first? Well, I have a great debt to Elizabeth Schaefer for asking me to cast a light on Dooku’s past, and to Michael Siglain for both championing my Star Wars career and sending me Universal Horror action figures just when I need them. Thanks also to Jennifer Heddle, Pablo Hidalgo, Matt Martin, Kelsey Sharpe, and Emily Shkoukani for their challenging but oh-so-essential notes, Jason Fry for his encyclopedic knowledge of Star Wars lore, Alex Davis for guiding the script book into production, and my assistant, Sarah Simpson-Weiss, for keeping my life in order.
Then there is Nick Martorelli, our wonderful producer, and Penguin Random House Audio’s amazing publicity manager Nicole Morano, who shared the Dooku love far and wide. Thanks also to our incredible cast for breathing life into these words. Having a script performed for the first time is equal parts nerve-racking and thrilling, but now, as I reread the script, I hear each and every one of their voices.
Mention needs to be made of Claudia Gray and George Mann, who both kept me sane through a rather frenzied writing period, as did my Project Luminous co-conspirators Daniel José Older, Justina Ireland, and Charles Soule. Claudia, in particular, was a great help as we wrestled with Jedi traditions and new Padawans together.
As always, the largest support came from my darling Clare, who was the first person to read the script and who also kept the Scott house ticking when I burned the midnight oil to hit the deadline. Thank you so much, sweetheart. I couldn’t do any of this without you.
But the final thanks should go to Sir Christopher Lee, for first bringing Dooku of Serenno to life (and for terrifying me repeatedly when I was a kid), and Corey Burton, who expanded the count so brilliantly in The Clone Wars.
Gentlemen, I raise a glass of Mantero funeral wine to you both.