Thank you also, yet again, to Will Conroy, whose history of the Arizona Inn sparked a key subplot of this novel—with apologies for any shadows my wholly fictional characters may cast on that glorious refuge and the integrity of its staff.
So many friends give me encouragement, advice, and the occasional necessary scold each time I wrestle with a new story. Dear Kate Howe, Mark Danielewski, Loraine Despres, Carleton Eastlake, Tobin Anderson, Laura Mathews, Charlie Clark, Gregory Maguire, Barney Karpfinger, Mary Stuart Masterson, Jeremy Greenberg, Cheryl Tan, Wilson Kidde, Maria Mileaf, Elene Catrakilis, and Patty Woo: In different ways, each of you enriched this book. At home, where the love of my family is the oxygen of my working life, I thank Dennis for, among countless other things, catching my clam-sauce gaffe. I thank Alec and Oliver (and Lucy White!) for making me pay far too much attention to the Oscars—or, rather, to the actors and films they elevate.
Gayle Grader, you too. You gave me the best mantra any writer (or anybody at all) could wish for: Amaze yourself.