Acknowledgments

Many people helped me turn this dream into a reality. Thanks to my husband, Danny, for always believing this novel would get published (even when I didn’t) and for pushing me to continue. To Andy and Natalie for sharing their mom with her imaginary friends on the computer. To my parents for feeding my imagination with stories of their childhood and youth, and for inspiring the perfect setting for this novel (including the evening tangos on my dad’s portable radio). To my agent, Liza Fleissig, for her undying enthusiasm for this story and for never giving up. To my editor, Maxim Brown, for taking a chance on this novel and for bringing a new level of insight to these characters. Also to the Skyhorse team for their meticulous work and the beautiful cover.

To the brilliant writers who’ve helped me along the way: Rosslyn Elliott, for reading three different versions of the novel and realizing it needed a new structure to work. To my cheerleader, Susie Salom, who loved this novel from the start and has been one of its most fervent advocates. To Marriah Nissen, friend, agent-sister, and fellow historical writer who has struggled with me on the quest for publication, and to María Elena Venant, my walking encyclopedia who’s always there when I need a historical, fashion, or literature question answered. If it hadn’t been for you, I might have never written a novel in English. To my early readers: Joycelyn Campbell, for thoroughly questioning my characters and introducing me to the world of the Enneagram; to Barbara Leachman and Don Morgan, for reading a very early and flawed draft filled with ESL errors. To Sandra Toro for always cheering me on and making me a member of her annual writers’ conference committee. To Paula Paul, Natalia Sylvester, and Juliet Blackwell for their wonderful blurbs.

Many thanks to my family in Ecuador for their support; to my siblings, Mónica, for her enthusiasm in all my literary efforts, and Alfredo, for helping me with important career decisions. To Ruth Hughes, my unconditional and loyal reader. To Cathy Hughes, for helping me with the kids in those early days of writing classes and conferences. To Gia Worlitzky-Smith for the lovely author photo. To Dr. Elma Gutierrez for answering my medical questions. To Margaret Kipp Chynoweth for sharing her knowledge of tango with me.

Finally, a big thank you to Ximena Reyes for her amazing insight and patience every time we talk about my work; and to Marili Figueroa for helping me plant the first seeds of what would become The Sisters of Alameda Street.