This book has been a long time in the making, and there are several people who were instrumental in helping me bring it to publication. As always, I’d like to thank my husband, John, who is my first reader.
My editor, Jeni Chappelle, also deserves a big thank-you for her advice and recommendations, all of which were invaluable in making this a much better book.
I would also like to thank the DiMarco Family of Ocean City, New Jersey, for their support of the Ocean City High School Drama Club. The DiMarcos won the opportunity to name a character in one of my upcoming novels. Gabriella DiMarco chose the names Gertrude (“Trudy”) and Grover, both of whom have prominent roles in the book.
Finally, I owe a debt of gratitude to Amanda Zimmerman, a Rare Book librarian at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Amanda was very helpful in my research into the library’s dime novel collection.