| |
––––––––
This book wouldn’t have existed if I hadn’t wandered around Barnes & Noble one day and came across The Hangman’s Diary by Franz Schmidt. A public executioner from 1573 to 1617 in Nuremberg, Germany, Master Schmidt’s accounts of the proceedings (along with the historical overview by editor Albrecht Keller) opened up a Pandora’s box for me. I dove into researching medieval executioners, becoming fascinated with the behind-the-scenes details, from their expected job duties to their daily lives and how society treated them despite being employees of the law. The more I researched, the more I learned that executioners weren’t the masked, blood-thirsty side characters in history; they were complex, often innocent individuals who were summoned to become something they never wanted to be. The stigma of being a hangman followed them throughout their lives, and was later forced onto their next of kin, creating executioner bloodlines and dynasties that spanned generations. It was a fact of life that helped create the basis of the Brevyn family and helped mold Joss’s character into what she became.
As to writing this story, I’m very blessed to have such a supportive tribe behind me, from friends and family to coworkers and fellow readers online. For this story, a special thank you to Eleanor at North Pines Editing, LLC, who was tremendously helpful in cleaning up this book and gave the best suggestions (I used them all, by the way); to Gina, my forever editor and writing partner-in-crime, whose been with me on this writing/publishing journey since the beginning and knows my tone better than anyone; to my mom, Rhonda, for always being there to read my work, even with a broken ankle; to Jess, who supported the idea of this story from the very beginning and was an amazing beta reader who also gave great suggestions (which I also used), and to Alex, for always championing my stories, especially on days I didn’t feel like writing and needed that extra push to face the blank page.
And of course, to you, gracious reader, for reading this story: Thank you, a million times thank you!
