There are many people whom I asked for advice or help of various kinds while writing this book, and any attempt to name them will surely miss somebody—but Sherwood Smith, Stephen Maddux, Adam Posadas, Stephanie Oakes, Mindy Rhiger, and Corinne Duyvis all responded very kindly to a very desperate author.
Gévaudan is almost entirely unlike seventeenth-century France (and I can only beg the forgiveness of any historians who have read this far), but I do owe the period a debt of inspiration, and I would like to acknowledge The Splendid Century by W. H. Lewis, Princesse of Versailles by Charles Elliott, and Versailles: A Biography of a Palace by Tony Spawforth as being particularly helpful. (Also: the letters of Liselotte von der Pfalz.)
Two major artistic inspirations were Tim Powers’s short story “The Hour of Babel” and Patricia A. McKillip’s novel The Alphabet of Thorn. Less major, but no less delectable, was the Old Norse poem V?lundarkviea. All three works are marvelous, and you should try them.
I suspect it is not easy to be friends with a writer under deadline. Sasha Decker, Tia Corrales, and Megan Lorance all deserve ten thousand thanks for the best friends that any writer could hope to have.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone who read my first novel, Cruel Beauty. Writing has always been my dream, and you helped it come true. Thanks!