Counting Heads

Acknowledgments

I am privileged to work with a dedicated corps of readers and editors who are not shy in pointing out the strengths and flaws of my fiction. This novel (and the novella We Were Out of Our Minds with Joy that serves as Part One) has been vastly improved through their generous feedback. To them I offer giddy thanks:

Suzanne Bishop

Terry Boren

Maggie Flinn

Dixon Jones

Holly Wade Matter

Jackie Stormer

Sandra Boatwright

Charles Brown

Colleen Herning

Marion Avrilyn Jones

Katherine Patrick

Cynthia Ward

Vincent Bonasso

Gardner Dozois

Elizabeth Ann Hull

Paula Kothe

Kate Schaefer

A snappy salute to my agent, Ralph Vicinanza, and my editor, David G. Hartwell, for their leap of faith in taking me on.

I started this book as a house guest of Pat Cadigan and Chris Fowler in London, and finished it as a house guest of Russell and Avis Ruffu in Denton, Texas. Thank you so much for sharing the creative ambiance of your lovely households. And special thanks to Candis Shannon for looking after Kika while I was away.

Finally, much appreciation to the Rasmuson Foundation for a grant to help promote this book.