I am also deeply grateful to my wonderful editor, Sarah Blumenstock at Berkley, for seeing just the right things and helping me take this novel to next level. Likewise, to my UK editor, Jillian Taylor at Michael Joseph. This novel would have been much poorer without the two of you, and I am so very happy that you saw the potential. Another round of thanks goes to the teams at Berkley and Michael Joseph respectively. It really takes a village to raise a proper book.
I also owe thanks to Liv Lingborn for countless late night discussion about Belle and her exploits, to Sissel Berge for introducing me to Selbu and taking me to visit St?rsetgjerdet, to my cousin ?ygunn Skaret for her boundless enthusiasm, and to my son, Jonah, for patience and understanding.
My mother, Sidsel Kristin Degn Skaret, who died while I was working on this novel, also deserves heartfelt thanks for raising me among well-stocked bookshelves crammed with works by feminist writers. I think she would have liked this one.
I am also grateful to all the historians and nonfiction writers who have taken on Belle and excavated her story. In addition to providing me with facts, their work has served as a huge inspiration.
There is also Belle herself, and though it feels wrong to thank her per se, there wouldn’t have been a book without her, so I think I should at least acknowledge that fact. Writing a folkloric monster back to flesh and blood has been a challenging yet immensely rewarding experience, and though I still don’t know just who Belle Gunness was, at least I feel a little bit wiser.