ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I need to thank my wife, Carly, first and foremost. Dreamers can dream all they want, but without the pragmatist poking them and nudging them along, those dreams will never come to fruition.

Thanks to my agent, Alexandra Machinist, in part for helping me to navigate the funny industry we call publishing but mostly for believing in me and in my work and for standing with me when I was unwilling to compromise.

Thanks to my editor, Ben Sevier, and the rest of the team at Dutton. You’ve made me a better writer, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Finally, thanks to Drew Pitzer, Amanda Hulsey, Aron Gooblar, Jay Johnston, Noah Davis, David Menoni, Marty McLoughlin, Kevin Trageser, Stephen Szycher, and Michael Bedrick for reading and commenting on earlier drafts of this books. It would be a much different and far inferior book without your input. More important, thanks for giving me an audience to inspire me to keep writing, no matter how frustrated, frightened, or discouraged I became.