All my heart and thanks to my family, which despite what these stories might suggest, is indeed a happy crew. Thank you to Rick, my rock, and my children, Colin and Alexandra, who always cheer me on. Thank you to Donna and David Hamilton for encouraging my writing from an early age, for reading drafts, and for giving me my first tiny dictionary—“because words are not enough.” Thank you also to David and Trish Hamilton, for unflagging support.
A special thank you to Steve Yarbrough, for his amazingly kind words about this collection.
Thank you to my friend, Dave Fox, for encouraging me to chase my dreams. It has been many years since that sushi dinner when you urged me to get cracking, but I never forgot and have appreciated your continued support in the years hence.
Thank you also to Dan Wickett, Erik Simon, Cary Johnson, Elisa Morris, Nancy Carpenter, Carl Lennertz, Kim Lara, April Eberhardt, Ann Weisgarber, Kathy Malik and Sara Speth—dear friends all whose encouragement for my writing as a whole helped me to keep going.
Thank you to The Mud Season Review, Beloit Fiction Journal, Emerging Writers Network, Wisconsin Review, Long Story, Short, and Puerto del Sol for first publishing or sharing my work.
Thank you to the Colorado State University MFA program staff, where many of these stories were first written, for a fantastic three years: David Milofsky, John Clark Pratt, Leslee Becker, and Steven Schwartz.
And a heartfelt thank you to Marc Estrin and Donna Bister for believing in me and in my stories and for shepherding me through the publication process with such wisdom and grace.