Acknowledgments

On the pantheon of friendship litmus tests, reading an unpublished first novel falls somewhere between moving day and an early morning lift to the airport. I count myself lucky that so many obliged.

At the top of the list is Alice Piper, who put her Master’s in Creative Writing to good use and improved the story immensely. I am also grateful to Catherine Burns, James Burns, Matt Schenone, Cam Peters, Hannah Peters, and my well-read life partner, Helen, for wading through early drafts with helpful critiques.

My editor, Kaycee John, is the best in the business. I thank her for rescuing mine from the ocean of manuscripts worthy of print and for tolerating what I understand to be my serious affliction related to the passive voice. Thank you also to readers Elizabeth Johnson, Robin Johnson, and the team of proofreaders at The Wild Rose Press.

To the extent I have a knack for this, I owe it to my mother’s love of books and my dad’s ability to spin a yarn. Finally, a special thank you to my son, Ben. He faithfully read every draft, and his outlook on life inspired me to finally put pen to paper.