Here we are. It’s difficult to believe that I’m writing these words. That this saga, which has been a part of my life for so long, is finally coming to an end. I first began working on the characters that would eventually make their way into this story when I was fifteen (in case you’re curious, the first character I created was the one who would eventually become Khaemezra, and the second one, Kihrin). I’m now fifty. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would have the opportunity to share them with you.
As always, but with no less enthusiasm than on previous occasions, let me thank my agent, Sam Morgan, my editors, Devi Pillai and Bella Pagan, and all the often unsung staff at Tor without whom these books would have been impossible. I’d also like to thank Lars Grant-West, whose cover art has been so utterly perfect throughout the entire series.
Eternal thanks to my husband, Mike, whose input and willingness to be the rubber duck I throw ideas against has so often carried me through in a pinch. I am forever thankful for his suggestions and for his patience—and especially for his understanding when I have ignored his advice. Thanks too to the members of the Author’s Sack, active or otherwise, who have supported, cheered, and prodded me into getting my butt in the chair and my fingers on the keyboard. And last but certainly not least, thank you to my family and friends who have spent the last three years being told, “Sorry, I can’t. I’m on deadline.”
By the time I’m typing this I will have written over one million words for this series. I’m less certain how large the total would be if I counted the words that ended up in the trash bin, but I’ll assume at least half again as large. The vast majority of that was written in the last three years.
I regret nothing.