The chaos of writing a book includes a paradox of solitude and community. Like sitting in a restaurant, surrounded by people and yet all the same isolated in one’s own authorial bubble (and trust me, much of this book was written in just such a setting). The words are mine, their inspiration and form were shaped by many influences, friends and colleagues without whose support there would be no book. With the understanding that I’m surely forgetting someone, I need to thank them.
For this and other projects over the years, I have received the generous insights and advice of the members of NobleFusion: Tim Burke, Arthur (Buck) Dorrance, Sally Grotta, Barbara Hill, and Cathy Petrini. A draft of the first act of this novel benefited from the feedback of my beta readers: Paula Billig, Mike Higgins, Michael Oetting, Diane Osborne, and Robert D. Ryne. My sincere gratitude to the members of the Furry Writers Guild who have welcomed me into the ranks and shared so much. Appreciation as well to composer Sydney Faulkner, who somehow takes my words and pulls breathtaking music from them. Thanks, too, to Oz Drummond for the occasional quiet, late-night talks that linger even still in my head, and likewise to Chuck Gannon for his friendship and generosity of spirit.
I am thankful for the continued support of my agent, John Silbersack, and I hope he likes the sailing in this book. I am in awe of the talent of Victo Ngai and humbled to have received another breathtaking cover by her. Thank you to my copyeditor, Elektra Hammond, who believes that I left all those typos for her so she wouldn’t get bored. To the many people at Tor who have given of their time and talents to make this book possible, Irene Gallo and Patty Garcia and Linda Quinton, and doubtless more I’ve never met, I am in your debt. And of course, my editor, Marco Palmieri, who despite being busier than anyone should have to be, has the patience of ten men and the tolerance of still more, a true and supportive friend who believes in talking elephants, mere thanks will never be sufficient.
And always and forever, Valerie, who puts up with all my foolishness, points out where I’ve gotten things wrong, and always delights in hearing the next story. As I say to you every year on the morning of our wedding anniversary, thank you for not killing me in my sleep.