ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In this final book of the series, all thanks must go to the two women whose energy and inspiration made it possible from the start: Jane Judd, my agent, and Selina Walker, my editor at Transworld; both believed in the impossible so often that it became not only possible, but tangible, for which no written thanks is enough. Similarly, Kate Miciak and Nita Taublib held faith on the far side of the Atlantic; both gave time, effort, insight and encouragement that helped shape the series to be what it is. Nancy Webber and Deborah Adams have worked far beyond all reasonable limits to hold my copyediting in line and, as ever, I am indebted to H. J. P. “Douglas” Arnold for his accuracy of Roman thinking.

I am indebted also, at this ending, to my friends and neighbours in Moulton, who have taken care of me for the past twenty years: you are too many to name, but you know who you are, and that thanks are not enough. Those who had the courage to join me in the dreaming have been part of an extraordinary journey which has taken all of us beyond any boundaries we might have imagined to be real, while those friends who remained in consensus reality have been the bedrock of a stable life: Debs, Sarah, Jackie and my fellow Unusual Suspects. And to Faith, who began at the beginning—thank you.