We are blessed with wonderful friends. Our old friends encouraged us, gave us parties, recipes, and stories. Perhaps most significantly, they did wring our necks for delving into their family stories in the first book (and again in this one—we’re counting on more foregiveness). Suffice it to say: Nothing in life is more golden than friends, especially old friends, and most especially those who are the possessors of a sense of humor, that most humanizing quality. We’d have to cut down a forest to name all the Southern friends and relatives who’ve made this book both possible and so much fun. So we’ll simply say: You know who you are. Thanks Roberta, Ann Dudley, and all the gang.

We’ve been lucky in our Yankee friends too. It’s safe to say that this book would not have come to fruition without Gayle Ross, our agent, who had faith in the project and the ability and convey that faith to Hyperion. We thank Bob Miller, Will Schwalbe, and Ellen Archer for taking a chance on us. Leslie Wells, our astute and sensitive editor, would probably have been just as smart if she weren’t from Virginia. But we loved it that she is and felt that she could make suggestions from a depth of knowledge. Stella Connell is a New York publicist who hails from Mississippi—and we’re glad she was on our team too. Stella is athe gold standard for moving books off the shelves and into the reader’s hands.

We will always be grateful to Susan Mercandetti and Jonathan Burnham for getting the ball rolling with the first book and to Sandra McElwaine just happening to mention to Susan that she knew “these crazy Southern friends” who had a book idea.