Sookie Stackhouse book's dedications, acknowledgments and prologues for Book 5 Dead as a Doornail

Book 5 Dead as a Doornail

Dedication

This book is dedicated to a wonderful woman I don’t get to see often enough. Janet Hutchings (then an editor at Walker, now editor of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine ) was brave enough to take me on many years ago after I’d taken a long sabbatical from writing. God bless her.

Acknowledgments

I didn’t thank Patrick Schulz for loaning me his Benelli for the last book—sorry, Son. My friend Toni L. P. Kelner, who pointed out some problems in the first half of the book, is due a big hats-off. My friend Paula Woldan gave me moral support and some information on pirates, and was willing to endure me on Talk Like a Pirate Day. Her daughter Jennifer saved my life by helping me prepare the manuscript. Shay, a Faithful Reader, had the great idea for the calendar. And in thanking the Woldan family, I have to include Jay, a volunteer firefighter for many years, who shared his knowledge and expertise with me.