“Man and Boy” was first published in Granta (the Fathers issue, ed. by Alex Clark, December 2008).
“The Widow’s Cruse” first appeared in One Story (August 2012).
“Counting the Days” was first published in Phoenix Irish Short Stories 1998, ed. by David Marcus (London: Phoenix House, 1998), and broadcast on CBC Radio, May 2001.
“Snowblind” was first published in The Faber Book of Best New Irish Stories, ed. by David Marcus (London: Faber, 2007).
“The Body Swap” first appeared in Princeton University Library Chronicle: Special Issue on Irish Prose (2011).
Earlier versions of “The Lost Seed” were broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2000 and published in Groundswell: The Diva Book of Short Stories 2 (London: Diva Books, 2002).
“Vanitas” was first published in Like a Charm: A Novel in Voices, ed. by Karen Slaughter (London: Century and New York: William Morrow, 2004).
“The Hunt” first appeared in The New Statesman, January 2011, and was short-listed for the 2012 Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award.
A slightly different version of “Daddy’s Girl” was first published in Neon Lit: The Time Out Book of New Writing, ed. by Nicholas Royle (London: Quartet, 1998), and broadcast on BBC Radio 4, May 2000.
“What Remains” was first published in Queens Quarterly (spring 2001) and was shortlisted for the Journey Prize.
I would like to express my appreciation to all these editors, especially the late, great David Marcus. Also to Susan L. Johnson, whose essay “Sharing Bed and Board” sparked two of these stories, and to Scott Anderson at Sharlot Hall Museum and Christopher Dears, for going out of their way to help me with research inquiries for “The Long Way Home” and “Daddy’s Girl” respectively.