ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to my wife Ann, my first reader, who has provided invaluable comments and support over so many years. Special thanks to Peter Lavery, Rebecca Saunders, and the rest of the Pan Macmillan staff for their many kindnesses. Thanks also to my other editors on Shriek. Liz Gorinsky (US), Hannes Riffel (Germany), and Sebastien Guillot (France), as well as the indomitable Jim Minz.

Thanks to everyone who read all or part of this book in manuscript form and offered their comments, including Matt Cheney, Clare Dudman, Jason Lundberg, Mark Roberts, Eric Schaller, Anna Tambour, Jeffrey Thomas, Juliet Ulman, Elizabeth VanderMeer, Robert Wexler, Neil Williamson, Tamar Yellin, and Zoran Zivkovic. Thanks to everyone at ISD who was generally supportive or specifically helpful with regard to this novel, including Gwen Hooper, Diana Jones-Ellis, Paul Larsen, Missy Lynch, Meredith McDonough, Kimberley Mitchell, Leigh Moore, Richard Peterson, Leisa Pichard, and Scott Stratton. Thanks to Jonathan Edwards and Mark Roberts for wonderful forgeries. Special thanks to my agent, Howard Morhaim, for his guidance, advice, patience, and friendship, to Danny Baror of Baror International for his continued guidance and advice about foreign language sales, and to Claire Weaver for her tireless efforts.

Music Acknowledgements

Over the seven years during which I wrote Shriek, I was sustained by music – an unofficial soundtrack that helped me stay focused.

Afghan Whigs – Gentlemen – Duncan and Mary’s relationship

Aion – Dead Can Dance – general

In Flames – Soundtrack to Your Escape – war scenes

James – entire catalogue – general

Murder City Devils – entire catalogue – general and war scenes

Muse – entire catalogue – opera scene

The National – entire catalogue – Mary and Duncan’s relationship

Nick Cave – The Boatman’s Call – the sadder parts of Mary and Duncan’s relationship

Pleasure Forever – compilation – Janice’s dissolute parties and Festival night

Scott Walker – Tilt – Duncan’s underground adventures

Songs: Ohia – Magnolia Electric Co. – general

Spoon – entire catalogue, including Gimme Fiction – general and war scenes

The Cure – Mixed Up – transitions

The South – Mystic Tides – general

Thursday – War All the Time – war-reporter scenes

Special thanks to the Church. I listened to selections from all their CDs while writing Shriek.

Tallahassee, Florida, May 1998 to August 2005