This story would never have existed without the help of my many friends on the FidoNet Writing echo, including Dennis Havens, who asked all the right questions about faery biology; the late R. Veraa and Joe Chamberlain, who shared their experiences of living with a spinal cord injury; and my mentors, Patricia C. Wrede and Pamela Dean, who taught me what it means to be a professional author and gave me hope that someday I could be one too.

I am also indebted to Jim, Matt, and Angela, whose demand for new chapters kept me writing steadily until the first draft was finished; to Claire Eddy at Tor for taking an early interest in the manuscript; to Cheryl Klein at Arthur A. Levine for broadening my perspective on readership and teaching me invaluable lessons about revision; to my agents, Josh and Tracey Adams, for believing in this book and in me as a writer; to my wonderful editor, Catherine Onder at HarperCollins, for showing me how to take Knife’s story to the next level—and the next—and the next; to Alec Dossetor for tirelessly reading draft after draft and giving me comments on every one; to Liz Barr, Brittany Harrison, Teri Krenek, and Sylvia Thomas, whose steadfast support helped keep me sane; to Emily Bytheway, Erin Fitzgerald, Claudia Gray, Kerrie Mills, Meg Burden, Seema G., Lisa Inman, Jerie Wills, and Paula Berman, who offered shrewd critiques and encouraging praise; to Emily Friedman and Saundra Mitchell for the delightful fan art; to Laurie R. King for fifteen years of kindness, generosity, and Mary Russell; and to my fellow 2009 Debs on LiveJournal, who are truly a never-ending Feast of Awesome.

Finally, I want to thank my husband for being a wonderful partner; my children and my extended family for putting up with my lunacy; and most of all the One who is both Author and Word, the Beginning and the End, my Lord and my God. As the hymnist Josiah Conder wrote: