I fell in love with San Francisco in 1963 (I was eight). I moved there in 1976, and a year later wrote the first lines of a story that would become Passing Strange. They did not survive, but forty years later, the story of Emily Netterfield and Loretta Haskel is finally on the page. As I type this, my desk is littered with dozens of books about the city, View-Master reels of the fair, WPA guides and maps, and souvenirs from before I was born. I am especially grateful to the GLBT Archives for oral histories and photos of Mona’s; to Trina Robbins and Arthur Dong for their amazing books on the history of Forbidden City and other Chinese nightclubs; to Stephen D. Korshak and J. David Spurlock for their work on the art of Margaret Brundage; to Mara’s Italian Pastry for raspberry rings (it was research . . .); and to Grant Canfield, my poker buddy, for letting me spend hours looking through his vast collection of vintage pulps. Last, but certainly not least, thanks to Lee Harris and Irene Gallo, for founding Tor.com’s novella line, and to Jonathan Strahan, editor extraordinaire, who suggested I might want to write one for him.