ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Every book needs a great editor and this book had two, the brilliant Tracey Keevan at Disney, who pointed out the horrifying gaps in my horror story, and the incredible Alexandra Hightower at Little, Brown, who polished this thing to a high sheen. Writing this was a group effort, and if the book sings it’s because of their voices.

I also want to thank Mary O’Callaghan, the language program coordinator for the Department of Irish Language and Literature at the University of Notre Dame, for helping me with the banshee’s Irish. I had no idea what the ghost was requesting of Elizabeth until Professor O’Callaghan graciously agreed to lend a hand. Before that I thought she maybe was asking for a pickle.

My agents Wendy Sherman and Alex Glass have been with me every step of my Elizabethan journey and I will be forever grateful to them for making it happen.

My family is my support and inspiration, especially my children, who seem to keep appearing in the books.

I also want to thank all the school librarians who hosted me in the last year and all the middle school kids around the country who talked to me about Elizabeth, the law, and the writing process. I write these books to teach, entertain, and inspire, and these students have done exactly that for me. The main struggle in writing for younger readers is to keep up with such an amazing audience. Finally, this book is coming out in the midst of a pandemic that eerily echoes the influenza outbreak of 1918 that sickened Keir and killed tens of millions worldwide. Keir’s stories of the 1918 pandemic were enhanced by two excellent books, The Great Influenza by John M. Barry and Pandemic 1918 by Catharine Arnold. History continues to teach us that no matter what we face, we are stronger when we face it together. Elizabeth has taught me that nothing makes us stronger than a Legion of Friendship. Welcome to my Legion.