As much as I enjoyed writing about the further adventures of Celie and Castle Glower, this book really took the mickey out of me! It was the most complicated journey that any of my books has ever taken, and I would like to thank, from the depths of my heart, everyone who helped Celie and Castle Glower and all their friends (old and new).
First off, my dear, long-suffering husband. Poor man. Puts in a full day of work at his office, then has to come home, cook, clean, and tuck the kids into bed … and he never complains! Never! (Well, maybe there was one time … but still!) And my poor kids, who are so good about playing quietly while I work and rant and pace and steal their Easter/Halloween/Christmas candy! Thank you, all of you!
Thank you to my extended family: parents, siblings, and in-laws. Aunts and uncles and cousins who share my books with friends and students, you are wonderful! And a special shout-out to my dear aunt Shirley, who called me the day of my thrice-extended-deadline, out of the blue, to tell me that she’d just finished Tuesdays at the Castle and loved it so much she just couldn’t wait for the sequel. I needed that, Shirley. Thank you.
Speaking of thrice-extended-deadlines: thank you, Michelle Nagler, Editor from Heaven! Thank you, thank you, thank you for patiently helping me through the many drafts and missed deadlines and hair-pulling hysteria of this book. And for figuring out where the thing with the maps in the room with the guy had gone.
Special thanks to all the Bloomsbury team, for their tireless help and endless enthusiasm: Katy Hershberger, Bridget Hartzler, Brett Wright, Rachel Stark, Beth Eller, Linette Kim, Caroline Abbey—so much fabulousness! And extra-special thanks to copyeditor Linda Minton: bless you for your astute comments and help in the final stages of this book!
Thank you, thank you, a thousand times thank you to Amy-My-Awesome-Agent, for never being less than wonderful, for never losing your cool, for being a good friend, and for being a stellar agent and advisor.
And my little one-dimpled, dark-eyed Baby Roo, the youngest of my three children, has been with me for every moment of this book. I started writing it during my pregnancy, I worked on it during those horrible eleven days he was in the NICU (big hugs to Adriana and Shad, Bev, Dr. Bentley and Dr. Jason, though), and I finished it with him cuddled up in my lap. Baby Roo, this is your book, my love! (Now stop chewing on it!)