My first thanks are to Jane Austen, who believed she had created, in Emma, “a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.” It became, instead, a masterpiece. My retelling of Emma, aside from the vampire humor, is an attempt to make this delightful novel accessible to modern readers, especially young adults.
I wish to thank my loving wife, Peggy, for her many years of staunch and unwavering support of my effort to launch a second career in writing. I also wish to thank my children—Brad, Seton, and Meg—for their love and faith in me. I especially thank Meg for introducing me to the world of vampires, which helped inspire this book.
I would be nowhere without my glorious agent, Jill Grosjean. Appropriately called the “patron saint of first-time novelists” by one of her New York Times bestselling authors, she believed in me when I did not, and with tireless persistence and encouragement found the very best home for my book.
Sourcebooks Landmark is an extraordinary publishing house with extraordinary people. I wish to thank, above all, my editor, Deb Werksman. She saw the potential in my book and then, with encouragement and compassion, inspired and challenged me to elevate it to its full potential. Emma and the Vampires would, quite simply, not be the book it is without her. Thanks as well to my Associate Editor Susie Benton for the time, attention, and care she devoted to my book, my Production Editor Sarah Ryan and her excellent copyediting staff, and my Publicity Manager Liz Kelsch for her exceptional efforts in promoting the book.