The Scarlet Wench (25 page)

  In the United States:

  When a writer lives with a story in her head for almost two years, sometimes explanations don’t always make it to the page. Readers with keen eyes and gracious hearts contributed valuable time to read and edit the manuscript. Each also provided thoughtful questions when something didn’t make sense, so that (hopefully) everything now does: Jennifer Brecht; Kimberly Graff, MSLIS; Matthew Graff, MSLIS; Arthur Graff; and Lauren Small.

  Lisa Reiner gave me crucial information on what Sean would be doing at his age, based on her own young son. Thank you, Lisa. I’ll be in touch again soon.

  I’ve been working with four wonderful women in the Screw Iowa! Writing Group for ten years. Our workshops are filled with suggestions, advice and encouragement that keep me engaged and writing: Mariana Damon, Nina Romano, Lauren Small and Melissa Westemeier. Thanks again to Lauren Small for her vision in creating Bridle Path Press and for keeping me in print.

  Giordana Segneri shapes each book with her design and is responsible for the wonderful covers and interior art as well expert copyediting and layout. We’re a great team, and I’d be lost without her input, especially when we work together on the final product. This is your year, G & J …

  Thanks, too, to the readers who give me great feedback on the series and look forward to the next book. You make all the hard work and sleepless nights worthwhile. And I’m grateful to those who help me when I’m on a book tour by feeding me and letting me sleep in their guest rooms: Elissa and George Longo, Dana and Steve Beenstock, Kimberly and Matthew Graff, Barbara and Mike Jancovic, Toni Amato and Michela Croke, Paul Hoff
mann, Anne and Rob Jacobs, Robin Casey and Charlie Teague, Gretta Keene and Bill Murray, Laura and Peter Hamilton, and Jeanne Petta.

  My family—the Minnesota Graffs, the Schoharie Graffs, the Belhaven Burks and Barbara Jancovic—give me love and encouragement at all times, for which I’m very grateful. This series wouldn’t be possible without the support and patience of my husband, Arthur, who takes our dog on long walks to give me time to write; reads my drafts and provides a man’s point of view; and puts up with the rollercoaster of deadlines, travel and emotions that is a writer’s life.

  When I was a little girl, every afternoon my mother and I would sit in a green wing chair where she read from the Childcraft book
Poems of Early Childhood
over and over, until the words became familiar and I learned to read. By the time I started kindergarten, I had read
Storytelling and Other Poems
and was reading the
Folk and Fairy Tales
volume. After that,
Life in Many Lands
took me traveling, and on through fourteen volumes that formed the basis of my young reader’s world. Thanks for instilling in me your love of books and reading, Mom. This one’s for you.

About the Author

M. K. Graff is the author of the Nora Tierney mystery series, set in the United Kingdom.
The Blue Virgin
introduces Nora, an American writer living in Oxford, a setting inspired by Graff’s literature studies at Exeter College. The novel won First Prize as Best British Cozy from Chanticleer Media in 2013.
The Green Remains
follows Nora’s move to Cumbria, as does continued murderous activity. Graff has published poetry and creative nonfiction and is also co-author of
Writing in a Changing World
, a primer on writing groups and critique techniques written with the other members of the Screw Iowa! Writers Group. She writes crime book reviews at www.auntiemwrites.com and is managing editor of Bridle Path Press. A member of Sisters in Crime, Graff runs the North Carolina Writers Read program in Belhaven and teaches writing workshops.
The Scarlet Wench
is Graff’s third in a series of Nora Tierney mysteries.