Toby’s adventures continue, and with them, my gratitude only grows, because there’s no possible way I could have done this alone. Thank you to everyone who has followed me this far, trusting me to tell a story that’s taking years to finish, but which I have loved every step of the way. Your love for it helps to keep me striving to be the best I possibly can. Toby is my imaginary friend, but you’re the ones who truly allow me to bring her to life.
Writing a book is little bit like fishing: it’s a solitary activity that works better when it’s done with a support structure of some kind. Because of that, my thanks must be extended to all the people who’ve supported me through the writing of Night and Silence, including the Machete Squad, whose tireless efforts make my books better than I would ever have believed that they could be, the entire team at DAW Books, where they tolerate my strangeness with cheerful, if slightly befuddled grace, and the convention team from Penguin-Random House, who have allowed me to hide a startling amount of Diet Dr Pepper behind their booths. Also, huge thanks to all the people who have hosted me all over the world during the writing of this particular chapter of October’s story.
Thank you to my Vixy, who is the star I set my sails by; to my dearest Amy, who is the only siren I would trust to lead me home; the entire Sailor Gods RPG group, whose antics have allowed me to remember what fun it is to tell people a story; the cast of Desperate and Poor, for similar reasons (including the world’s pinkest bard); Brooke, for coming to visit when I needed her most; Shawn, for dinosaur noises; Jay and Tea, for Emma Frost reaction pics; and as always, to the Crowells, for everything. Thanks to Margaret and Mary, for their own sides of the story, to Whitney, for mathematical wonderlands, and to Priscilla, who is simply a delight.
I could never do this without Sheila Gilbert, whose tolerance and kindness define what an editor should be, and Joshua Starr, who answers the phone when I call (even if he doesn’t want to). Diana Fox puts up with more than anyone will ever know, while Chris McGrath brings Toby gloriously to life book after book. I’ve added a new cat to the clowder since our last outing, and Elsie is basically a tortoiseshell hive of wasps that pretends to be a cat. She is perfect. Finally, thank you to my pit crew: Christopher Mangum, Tara O’Shea, and Kate Secor.
My soundtrack while writing Night and Silence consisted mostly of Hadestown, by Anais Mitchell (still), Standing Stones, by Marian Call, The Hazards of Love, by the Decemberists, endless live concert recordings of the Counting Crows, and all the Ludo a girl could hope to have (eternally waiting for a new album). Any errors in this book are entirely my own. The errors that aren’t here are the ones that all these people helped me fix.
Let me show you what’s waiting a little deeper in the woods. I think you’re going to enjoy it.