I always liked to write, but without the patient instruction of Mrs. Wilhoite, Mrs. Quandt, Mrs. Libby, Dr. Swasey, Dr. Garrison, and a graduate student teacher at Purdue whose name I’ve long forgotten, but whose influence was enormous, I would not be the same person today, and would not have the privilege to do what I do. Billie Brownell has continued to nurture my writing over the past few years, and I appreciate all of the insights and improvements she has helped me make. Billie, I hear your voice in my ear when I write—and that’s a good thing.
My thanks go to Roger Waynick, original Publisher of Cool Springs Press, and to Mark Johanson, my Acquiring Editor for this project, each for taking a chance on me.
Once you start working on a book, there are people along the way that take the word doc and make it into a beautiful book. For that I have to thank the copy editors and designers and hort editors and indexers for their work. Without them, it’s all just words on the computer that might or might not make sense, and are certainly not very interesting to look at.
Every writer needs a cheerleader, and Tracy Stanley at Cool Springs has been that and more. She is the most patient, encouraging, and helpful editor one could ask for. This has been much easier with you to help me. Thank you so much, Tracy!
The Owner and Chef of Epic Food Co., James Bain, along with his staff, have been so friendly and nice, allowing me to camp out, drink their tea, eat their chocolate chip cookies, steal their WiFi, and devour their glorious vegetable creations while working on this book. Thank you.
And I couldn’t do anything without the love and support of my parents, who never said no when I wanted them to buy me a book and my husband—chief garden-waterer and dog wrangler in the house. Joe, you have the patience of a saint, and I’m glad you’re mine.