The list of those I have to thank is long and starts with the remarkable Juneteenth cowboys and cowgirls who first introduced me to the tale of Private Cathy Williams in the late seventies.
I am forever indebted to Pam Black for lighting the fire with her words, “My students need books about heroes who look like them,” and to Emily Haas for fanning it.
I must acknowledge Mary Williams, Fort Davis NHS, as an early advocate and protector of Private Williams’s legacy.
I would like to especially draw attention to the work of Barbara Richardson, who in her books, Black Directory of New Mexico and Noteworthy Black Women of New Mexico, as well as in her conversations with Pam Black presented an illuminating portrait of Private Williams found nowhere else.
I also offer heartfelt thanks to the men and women of the Buffalo Soldiers Heritage and Outreach Program; the Buffalo Soldier Society of New Mexico; and to Paul Matthews, founder of the Buffalo Soldier Museum of New Mexico for their vivid reenactments and help with the details of army life and dress. The Fort Davis National Historic Site and the Fort Clark Springs Museum were also both invaluable resources that allowed me to imagine myself into Cathy Williams’s world.
I give thanks to the Dobie-Paisano Fellowship at the University of Texas for a wild and open space where Williams could come to life.
I am grateful to the Meryl Streep Screenwriters Lab for its support and to the dear and wise friends I made there: Lyralen Kaye, Kim Turner, Vanessa Carmichael, Billie Mason, Janet Stilson, Tracy Charlton, Jan Kimbrough, Anna Hozian, Kellen Hertz, Gretchen Somerfeld, and Peres Owino who provided an invaluable African perspective.
I offer appreciation to all who guided me along this path by reading early drafts, providing critical insights, offering counsel, and sharing bottles of wine and cups of tea: John Pipkin, Carol Dawson, Anne Rodgers, Kelly Harrell, Tiffany Yates Martin, Clare Moore and Sarah Phelps, Satori Shakoor, John Jones, S. C. Gwynne, Ben and Sharie Fountain, Steven Harrigan, Elizabeth Crook, James Magnuson, Brenda Bell, Saundra Kirk and all the Chickas of Victoria Cottage, Christine Swanson, Scottie Gissell, Chris Tomlinson, and Michael Hurd.
Special thanks are due to Ann Weisgarber for telling me how the novel begins.
Among all my readers and advisors the most important are my sisters, Martha and Kay Bird. I won the Sister Lottery with two darlings who will not only read endless drafts but constantly lift me out of the pit of despair with encouragement, enthusiasm, and cheese.
For more unearned generosity and kindness than I deserve or could ever repay, I thank the luminous Kristin Hannah and Christina Baker Kline.
I am profoundly grateful for the extraordinarily happy new home I have found at St. Martin’s. I have been bowled over by the enthusiasm and expertise of everyone there from visionary publisher Jennifer Enderlin, to Lesley Worrell, the creator of the perfect cover, to my boundlessly energetic friend, former aerobics instructor, and now marketing guru, Gillian Redfearn. I am thrilled to be working with so many gifted and passionate bookpeople, Brant Janeway, Erica Martirano, Jordan Hanley, Dori Weintraub, Sally Richardson, and George Witte.
Finally, most crucially, I give thanks for a woman whom I feel Cathy Williams guided me to, the sublime Monique Patterson, editorial director extraordinaire, and her rock-star colleagues, Alexander Sehulster and Mara Delgado-Sanchez.
Needless to say, none of this would have happened without the empress of agents, my brat sister, Kristine Dahl.
And, of course and always, my essentials remain George, Gabriel, True, and the inspiration of Lt. Colista McCabe Bird, R.N.