This book wouldn’t have been possible without the help of a many kind people, and they deserve some thanks.
First, I’m grateful to Katherine Meyer, who really is the country’s top expert on exactly the sort of activism Atty does. She graciously gave me her time for an interview, and that interview helped me know where I was on the right track and where I needed to change course.
Seven Stories Press editor Tal Mancini poked and prodded this manuscript and found dozens of places where a middle-aged author’s voice and Atty’s progressive spirit didn’t quite match. Of my three books, this was the hardest to edit, and I’m glad I was in such capable hands.
The English Department at Jacksonville State University felt like home to me even before I was hired to teach there, and I find it a very humane workplace for anyone who wants to write. Anytime I asked for help, I got it.
My biggest thanks belong to readers, particularly the middle-school and high-school kids who responded to the first book. At one school visit, a young reader came to me and begged me to tell her that Reagan was gay. I told her what you now know: Reagan is straight, but there is an LGBT character in Atty at Law, and the clues are there if you look. In our current climate—with gay authors getting disinvited from school visits, and LGBT-themed books pulled off the shelves—I knew there was some risk in having Atty reveal this now, but I drew a lot of courage from the knowledge that there was at least one reader out there who wanted to see Atty as she is. I’m sure it took some courage to ask. Often, when we are courageous, we get results.
Another courageous young reader asked me to make her a character in my next book. Done and done. I’m sure the real Fallon has plenty of friends, but I should note that the friend mentioned in this book—the one who’s not entirely nice to Martinez—is an entirely fictional character.