My editor, Michelle Halket, for handling this book and many others of mine with complete professional care, and for supporting me and cheering me on with each new story. She’s created a group of true friends out of her stable of authors, and I’m proud to be part of it.
My beta readers! Dean Mayes and Abbie Williams provided expert back-and-forth email discussions about all kinds of plot points, and didn’t bat an eyelash when I was all, “Here’s a longer sex scene I wrote; what do you think of it?” Fellow writers are tolerant that way. Tracey Batt wrote me up a superb and pro-level outline of detail issues she caught and questions for me to consider, and even treated me to tea in person under the Space Needle—a great day! Melanie Carey brought her own vivid imagination and keen eye to the draft, and made me see aspects of it in a whole new light; and of course shared lots of in-person tea with me as well—conversations which will always be cherished. Ray Warner and Beth Willis lent their delightful enthusiasm to this story, as they have for many others of mine, and I always treasure their feedback.
And of course my parents and grandparents for securing and taking care of that odd little cabin on the beautiful Puget Sound, which has been our family’s favorite spot for decades now. May its magic never fade.