I have a great many people to thank—so many that I know I will end up missing someone. So many of you kept up my spirits with kind words or advice, or gave me your precious time for reading, critiquing, and discussing. You know who you are, and I wouldn’t be here without you.
I would like to thank my editor, Sheila Gilbert, for her insightful vision in sharpening this book. Thank you to Adam Auerbach for the beautiful cover art, and to Katie Hoffman for her kindness and advocacy. I’m also deeply grateful to my agent, Kristopher O’Higgins, who never stopped believing in this project and supported me through years of work and waiting. A big thank you also goes out to Marguerite Reed, who introduced me to Kris.
Janice Hardy, you’ve been there every step of the way. Thank you for telling me you cared about this book, and this was where I had to start.
Deborah Ross, I would not have made it through without your mentoring insights, hugs, and gentle guidance.
Among the many people who participated in critique and discussion I wish to extend particular appreciation to Lillian Csernica, Josephine Kelso, Dario Ciriello, Linda Whitaker, and Kyle Aisteach.
Special thanks go to David J. Peterson for the many hours he spent turning my alphabet for Varinin into a real font that could be used in this book.
Thank you to Tim, Niall, and Eagan for all the hours of listening, for telling me I’m awesome when I needed to hear it, and for also being honest about when I needed to fix things. Thanks to Pete and Jen for believing. Finally, I’d like to thank my parents, Eileen and Michael, for all the books they gave me to read, for supporting me through my education in linguistics and anthropology, and for taking me to France where I discovered Varin in the Gouffre de Padirac.