Acknowledgements

While this novel takes its inspiration from the lives we all lead day to day and year to year, it is a work of fiction and the characters are in no way meant to represent real people. Real people did, however, have a great deal to do with any art in the narrative that follows. I would like to thank, first and foremost, my writing group for seeing this book before I did: Mindy Abramowitz, Kate Bird, Shannon Underwood, Rhonda Waterfall, and others. Further thanks are due to Archer Pechawis, Peter Nosco, and Carson, for being a ray of light. And finally, my favourite gang of Thugs: Malcolm Sutton, for thoughtful editing and design; Hazel Millar, for publicity; and Jay Millar, for the leap of faith.