I resisted writing short stories for a long time. That might seem a strange admission at the end of a collection of short stories, but it’s the truth. For a long time, my only ambition as a writer was to be a novelist. For anyone reading this who hopes to see a novel published, I can’t encourage you enough to write short stories.
My time with James River Writers in Richmond is what pushed me to try my hand at short stories. I’m certain I never would have gotten my first novel Gidion’s Hunt published if not for the experience and skills I gained from working on many of the stories gathered in this book.
Each story owns a long list of acknowledgements. I can’t possibly list all of those people here, but among the people I gladly owe my thanks are Kristi Tuck Austin, Katharine Herndon, Shawna and Mike Christos, Leila Gaskin, Lana Krumwiede, Phil Hilliker, and especially my wife Sheri.
From Diversion Books, I want to thank Chris Mahon, Sarah Masterson Hally, and Lauren Szenina.
Most of all, I want to thank my editor Laura Duane who proposed the idea of this collection. Unbeknownst to her, I’d been considering for some time the idea of assembling these stories as a self-publishing project. As I worked with Laura, I realized many times how fortunate I was to have her calling the shots instead of doing this alone. Perhaps the biggest thanks I can give her is that my experience with The Deadlands: And Other Stories has left me eager to work with her on future projects.