Envy

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

AS I WRITE THIS, the sun has made a rare appearance here in the gloomy Pacific Northwest, and yet I find myself grateful and happy for all of the support I’ve received with the publication of Envy, the first in the Empty Coffin series.

It goes without saying that publishing a book—and publishing it well—is a total team effort. I’m fortunate to have the amazing and cheerful (even when we’re talking about murder) Cindy Loh at the helm at Sterling’s Splinter. There’s no mystery here. She’s simply the best editor (I wonder if she’ll put that in bold type?). I can’t think of a better, more creative designer than the terrific Katrina Damkoehler. Thanks to her, not only for the great care she put into the cover but also in the design of what’s between the covers. And to Judi Powers, Sterling’s ace publicity director, and her associate Meaghan Finnerty—thanks so much for all you’ve done to spread the word about the new series.

Thanks to the usual suspects: agent Susan Raihofer of the David Black Literary Agency, and early readers Tina Marie Brewer, Maizey Nunn, Annette Anderson, Mary Anderson, Hannah Smith, Jessica Wolfe, Anjali Banerjee, Randall Platt, Shana Smith, and Jim Thomsen. I would also like to acknowledge Sharlene Martin and Bree Ogden for bringing this idea to me.

I want to take this space to acknowledge M. William Phelps, my true crime author protégé, who has become a master and whose friendship over the past decade has meant so much to me. Thanks, Matt, for all the great times we’ve had talking about serial killers and publishers. Who’s scarier?

On a personal note, I can’t ignore the contributions of my family. We’ve traipsed through crime scenes, looked for body parts in the woods, and had some killer conversations—literally—with people on either side of homicide. Thanks and love to Claudia, and our girls, Marta and Morgan, for sharing my life of crime.