Acknowledgments

While working on my Acknowledgments page for The Midnight Court, it occured to me that many of the people I thanked in The Fallen Queen may have missed that they were mentioned. So for those who didn't see it in the back of the book or just haven't had a chance to pick up a copy, I thought I'd print it up here: My deepest gratitude goes out to the people who believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself: Martin Pedersen, for reading my fanciful stories from his home across the sea and always telling it like it is; Stephanie Rossi, for listening to me talk about the people in my head as if they have lives of their own (they do) and only occasionally looking at me as if I’m certifiable (I am); Cat Ellen, my cheerleader, for reading voraciously and wanting more; Daphne Phillips, whose invaluable critique made my work stronger and whom I adore for adoring my boys; Diana, my first reader, whose appreciation of my dark side sometimes prompts me to write scenes where somebody eats a baby (which didn’t make it into this book); Jon and Beth and everyone at Wednesday afternoon tea, for listening to me whinge; my son Samson, for putting up with a mom he only saw over the top of a computer screen for most of his childhood, and who, for some reason, seems to like me anyway; and a special thanks to my late husband Jack, for letting me plot out loud (also known as “listening to me whinge”) and for providing much loving inspiration for the relationship between my naughty demons—I wish you were here to meet them.

I’m also grateful to Allison Pang, for being Vasily’s first fangirl, and for encouraging me to dig deeper; to my agent, Sara Megibow, for believing in Anazakia and the boys and putting them into the right hands; and to my editors, Liz Pelletier, for loving the book and believing in my voice (and for not changing that line that contains the word “gluttonously”), and Catherine Kean, who did the heavy lifting.

Lastly, I’d like to add a special thanks to Lynn Flewelling for inspiring me with her magical world and her inimitable rogues, and for bringing together the wonderful writers of Writing on the Waves—as well as to the writers on those waves with whom I’ve shared the voyage; to the Bling Babes of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers 2010 Colorado Gold, and the amazing writing community on Twitter with too many to name, who’ve provided unending support along the journey even as they embark upon their own; and to Kate Bush, whose album Aerial accompanied the all-important dreamtime of my writing.