One of the things I love best about writing is the surprise factor, when something occurs to me out of the blue while I’m tapping away at the keyboard. It happened several times during the writing of this book, including when I was crafting the scene in which Grace is sitting in the library on a rainy day trying to think of a way to coax her daughter into spending some time with her. The idea of passageways hadn’t even entered my mind before that chapter, and it just came to me, as though Grace herself had whispered it into my ear. Later that evening, I was at dinner with some friends who asked about how my next book was coming along. “I think the house has secret passageways,” I told them. Their delighted reactions made me want to hurry home to find out exactly where those passageways led and what was lurking inside of them.
So, first of all, I thank my friends and my family for being interested enough to ask about what I’m writing and for inspiring me to come up with twists and turns I hadn’t seen coming. And speaking of friends and family, I owe a big debt of gratitude to Janet Lyso and her daughter and son-in-law, Melinda and Paul Smithson. After I had settled on the character of Matthew being a Lutheran minister, I realized that I had no idea how a minister might react when confronted with all of the strange and otherworldly things that were swirling around Alban House. Paul (a former man of the cloth himself), Jan, and Melinda gave me some excellent insights that really helped in the development of Matthew’s character. To any Lutherans out there who take issue with something Matthew says or does when confronted with the supernatural: These are my mistakes, not theirs, and are certainly unintentional.
Thank you to all of the readers who came to see me at speaking engagements, invited me to attend their book clubs, or simply wrote to tell me how much they enjoyed my first book, The Tale of Halcyon Crane. It truly was awe-inspiring for a first-time author to show up at a bookstore, library, or book club to find the room filled to the brim with people, all with copies of my book in their laps. I’m grateful beyond measure and I hope to see you all again this year.
An enormous thank-you to all of the bookstore owners, booksellers, librarians, and readers, including the Midwest Booksellers Association, the Independent Booksellers Association of America, the Great Lakes Booksellers Association, and the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library for supporting and promoting my work. It means the world to me.
To all the authors I’ve met during the past two years, especially my colleagues from Minnesota, thank you for being so warm and welcoming to the new girl on the block. I’m honored by your friendship.
As always, my never-ending gratitude goes to my friend and agent, Jennifer Weltz, for helping me work out sticky plot points, for making me laugh during every conversation, and for being my most ardent champion. I don’t know where I’d be without you but it certainly wouldn’t be where I am, living my lifelong dream. Thanks, too, to everyone at the Jean Naggar Literary Agency—you all are completely delightful to work with and I wish I lived closer to the city so I could take you out for cocktails. Repeatedly.
To my fantastic editor Elisabeth Dyssegaard—I am thrilled beyond measure to be working with you. Thank you for loving the story of the Albans as much as I do. Your masterful editing made the tale so much better told. Speaking of editing, thank you to the copy editors at Hyperion. I’m sure if you never see another ellipsis followed by “My words trailed off,” it will be too soon.
To my son, Ben, thank you for making me the proudest mother on the planet because of the achingly fine young man you have become.
And finally, to Steve. Without your support and love, none of this would be possible. It means everything … of course it does!