A book is a small thing—you can hold it in your hand—but it takes many, many people to bring it to fruition.
I’d like to thank the folks at Tor, my publisher: Moshe Feder, who acquired it; Christopher Morgan, who edited it; Patrick Nielsen Hayden, who provided invaluable support; and Patty Garcia and Irene Gallo, who were incredibly helpful and enthusiastic. I also must thank my agent, Paul Lucas, and the rest of the team at Janklow & Nesbit, who negotiated the deal and held my hand through the whole first-novel thing, and my excellent copyeditor (or should that be copy-editor?) Deanna Hoak.
Many people provided advice and support along the way. Sara Mueller was the first, helping me to find the core of the book in a morass of keen ideas; the librarians at Multnomah County Library were always helpful; Ian Osgood suggested the atmospheric phenomenon that I eventually named the Horn; Mary Rosenblum gave me tips on aerial navigation and publicity for authors; Dick Pilz told me about drogues; Shashi Jain checked my work on Captain Singh; and Doug Faunt provided information from his personal experience on period sailing vessels and bought (in a charity auction) the right to have his name in the book. Sorry it took so long.
I’d also like to thank everyone who critiqued the book as it went through its many revisions. Felicity Shoulders, Damian Kilby, and Dave Goldman provided early feedback; Walter Jon Williams, Michaela Roessner, Rick Wilber, Kim Zimring, Jay Lake, Diana Rowland, Daniel Abraham, James Patrick Kelly, Oz Drummond, and Carrie Vaughn at Rio Hondo provided feedback on the first nine chapters; Sherwood Smith, Tina Connolly, Eloise Drummond, MeiLin Miranda, and Amanda Clark provided comments on the first complete draft; and Grá Linnea, Jennifer Linnea, Mark Teppo, Rob Zeigler, Bradley Beaulieu, Kris Dikeman, Brenda Cooper, Adam Rakunas, Beth Wodzinski, and Chris Cevasco at Coastal Heaven provided feedback and encouragement, and helped me with my cover letter and elevator pitch.
Thanks to Kim Stanley Robinson, Patricia Rice, Madeleine Robins, Mary Jo Putney, Jim C. Hines, Marie Brennan, Tina Connolly, Kurt Busiek, Sherwood Smith, Michael J. Martinez, Pat Murphy, and Ellen Klages for early blurbs and comments.
Extra special thanks to Mary Robinette Kowal, my invaluable guide to all things Regency and navigating the dangerous shoals of publication; Patrick Swenson, who ran the Rainforest Writers Village writing retreats and (along with Jack Skillingstead) pointed me to the man who would become my agent; Shannon Page, who helped me keep writing through the most difficult days; Marc Wells, who gave up his Worldcon so I could attend; and Janna Silverstein, my greatest adviser and cheerleader.
And, first and last, my wife, Kate Yule, for everything.