Death of a Toy Soldier (21 page)

If publishing were a board game, it would be a cooperative one, where all the players work together, pooling their strengths to accomplish one complex objective. It hardly seems fair that only one name goes on the cover.

First, I’d like to thank my agent, Kim Lionetti, who was there on this project from square one, when the vintage toyshop was just one idea jostling around with a bunch of others.

Next, I’d like to thank my critique partners and readers, who helped slough off the rough spots and make the story even more fun. Thanks to Lynne Wallace-Lee, Aric Gaughan, Katie Murdock, and Ken Swiatek, who’ve spent lots of hours with me strategizing around a table. Thanks to Alice Loweecy and Kathy Kaminski for brainstorming with me when I was stuck. (Kathy’s ideas gave birth to a whole character. Alert readers will easily figure out which one.) And thanks to Janice Cline and Rob Early for reading for me.

I’d like to thank the village of East Aurora (yes, it’s a real place) for their patience while I repopulated their town with people of my own imagination—some of them victims and
killers. I plead guilty to wreaking havoc on the geography, but hopefully I kept all the cozy charm.

Of course, I’d like to thank Matthew Martz at Crooked Lane for taking a chance on what was, when he saw it, still a pretty rough draft. And thanks to Sarah Poppe, the copyeditors, cover artist, and the whole team there for helping make all this happen.

And a special thanks to my family and friends, who seem to instinctively know when I need to be left alone to work and when I need to be kidnapped for an evening of pizza and board games. (Set it up; I’ll be there in a minute.)

Finally, I’d like to thank you. You picked up my book and got to this point. Nothing makes the writing process more rewarding than meeting a total stranger who says, “I read your book!” I’d like to think the hours we’ve spent together have made us friends. And as E. B. White said, “That in itself is a tremendous thing.”