In the beginning, writers work alone to create their stories, but many other people help to make those stories even better. First I’d like to thank my good friend and fellow writer Vicki Delany, who read Blood Ties and made helpful suggestions. I also want to thank all the staff at Orca Book Publishers for their enthusiastic help and their support both of me and of Rapid Reads short novels in general. Most of all, a huge thank-you to Orca’s associate publisher, Ruth Linka, for making Blood Ties the best book it can be.