Some books an author chooses to write. Others are written out of necessity. I’ve started many projects for various reasons, and a good number have been left unfinished. But from the first time I sat down with Roz in the Skinned Cat, I felt compelled to finish her story. I told myself I was fine if it never got published. It was a strange book, after all. Was it a fantasy novel? A crime novel? I wasn’t sure it fit easily anywhere on the shelf, and I told myself that was okay. This story could be just for me.
But once it was done, I realized I wasn’t satisfied with keeping it to myself. I owed a lot to Rosalind Featherstone. She had helped me through some dark times, always there with a bad joke and a bit of world-weary wisdom when I needed her. The least I could do was fight like hell to get her out into the world.
So thank you to my agent, Jill Grinberg, for fighting alongside me. Thank you to Kiersten White and Sarah Brand for cheering me on and offering helpful criticism along the way. Thank you to Navah Wolfe for seeing such promise in Roz’s story. And thank you to my editor, Ed Schlesinger, for making it happen.
And thanks to you, dear reader, for your precious time.