This book wouldn’t be what it is, and in fact wouldn’t even exist, without the contributions of many fantastic people. First and foremost of course are my wife Michelle, my daughter Alexa, and my son Ben, who are the center of my universe. Their love and support make all things possible.
Thank you to my parents for teaching me to read at an early age, and for advocating for me to be allowed to read things well above my age level (“Yes, I know he’s 9, but he can handle THE WINDS OF WAR.”) Thanks also for being supportive of me even when you didn’t understand or agree with what I was about.
The mighty Maryland Space Opera Collective, or MD SPOC, is my local writing and critique group. They see pretty much everything I write and every bit of it is better thanks to them, so thank you to Kelly Rossmore, Phil Margolies, Martin Sherman-Marks, Beth Tanner, L. Blankenship, and most especially my siblings in ink, Karen Osborne & Jo Miles. (Thanks also to our other members, Jules Whitney, Amy Lynwander, and Vickie Chen, who didn’t see this book, but have made an impact on my writing since.) This crew saw the earliest versions and helped me find the shape of the story that lay within the draft I handed them.
Other readers who provided invaluable feedback include Mary Alexandra Agner, Aimee Kuzenski, Tyler Hayes, Sydney Rossman-Reich, and Tim Shea. Each one of them poked and prodded and asked questions and helped this world and its people come to life.
Having a community of other writers as a support network is invaluable, and the Isle of Write is the community I’m privileged to be a part of. Ever so proud and thankful of my posse.
Elsa Sjunneson provided consultation and sensitivity editing regarding blindness and was instrumental in crafting my portrayal of Josephine Okafor. She also helped create the tactile hacking system Okafor uses. Whatever is true and real in that portrayal is due to Elsa’s guidance; the responsibility for any errors, omissions, or mistakes that remain lies with me.
Thank you to Tempest Bradford, Nisi Shawl, and all their guest instructors in the Writing the Other workshop. Anything correct in this book about the portrayal of people who aren’t like myself is due to their tutelage; all mistakes are solely my own.
My agent Hannah Bowman saw my pitch of “BATTLESTAR GALACTICA meets THE GOLDEN GIRLS” and very quickly understood what I was trying to do in this story, and what kinds of stories I want to tell. Her feedback provided the final polish. She’s a terrific partner and teacher.
Thanks to my editors Kate Coe & Jim Killen, and all the team at Rebellion/Solaris for being fans of the “exploding spaceships” aesthetic, and for publishing adventurous science fiction that’s not wrapped up in jingoism and stilted attitudes.
Many established SFF writers welcomed me into the community, and provided all sorts of support and encouragement, most especially Curtis Chen, Tobias Buckell, Derek Kunsken, Mary Robinette Kowal, Fran Wilde, Scott Lynch, and Elizabeth Bear. Closer to home is what Mike Underwood calls “The Greater Baltimore/DC Speculative Fiction Co-Prosperity Sphere,” including Mike himself, Sarah Pinsker, Kellan Szpara, Scott Edelman, Dan Lyman-Kennedy, the MD SPOC crew, emeritus members Arkady Martine & Vivian Shaw (may New Mexico continue to be good to you!), and all the rest of the local SFF community.
My thanks to the Viable Paradise community, including all the alumni, instructors, Mac Stone and the amazing staff, and most especially to my fellow Cheese Weasels of VP20.
Speaking of VP: I wouldn’t have been able to attend had my mother-in-law, Mary Gingrich Martin, along my son Ben, not taken care of Michelle when she broke her foot the day before I left badly enough to require surgery while I was at the workshop. As Ben put it, they spent a week at the bottom level of Maslow’s Hierarchy while I was off living at the top. That formative experience wouldn’t have been possible for me without their sacrifice and labor.
And lastly, my thanks to Karen, Trish, Ali, Mackenzie, Alejandro, Becky, and all the rest of the Shadow Council crew, who were there when the Dead Guy With A Sword started telling stories so long ago, and encouraged him to keep going.