I am very pleased once more to acknowledge Shelly Shapiro, ace editor at Del Rey, for her patience, encouragement, perseverance, and grit. I would also like to acknowledge, also once again, the marvelous Martha Trachtenberg for her brilliant copyediting. I would like to thank Judith Welsh, my editor at Transworld, for her keen insights and constant encouragement.
Donald Maass has been my literary agent since the very beginning, when he put me through a grueling two-hour phone interview when I first considered writing Dragonsblood. He continues to hold me to everhigher standards.
Of course, none of this would be possible without Mum: Anne McCaffrey — love you!
Needless to say, any errors, omissions, or just strange ol’ words are mine, all mine, and no one else’s.