Acknowledgements
Few books are written truly alone. Big thanks to Jim Minz for joining me in the exploration of this imaginary-and-yet-not-wholly-imaginary land that I love and for providing great editorial guidance.
For all the reasons that I want to write this story, I want to find people who will read it. I owe gratitude to the entire Baen team (editors, writers, and readers) for their efforts on this score, and especially to Corinda Carfora and Christopher Ruocchio, for their advocacy, their time, their enthusiasm, their wisdom, and their marketing mojo.
Thank you, my friends.
Dedication
For my father, Dick Butler, who knows all the stars.
And for my friend John Lundwall,
who reminded me that I should know them, too.