Antiphon (61 page)

Like
Canticle
before it, this one was marked by loss with the passing of my father (just thirteen months after Mom) when I was roughly halfway through the drafting of the book. But this particular book was also marked by gain in that my daughters, Elizabeth and Rachel, were born just as I reached the finish line.

First and foremost, I’m grateful to Jen for the partnership and encouragement—and for the gift of two little Incentive Factories to keep me grinding out the words. Thank you, darling. And thank you, Lizzy and Rachel, for giving me added drive. It was fun editing this book while holding you in my other arm.

Also big thanks to the rest of the J-Team: John, Jay, Jerry, Jean Ann—you are great friends who keep me honest and hard at work.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank the West Clan for all their support both in general, and also specifically when the girls were born. Those two weeks of help got the last of this book written.

There is an even longer list of other friends who’ve come alongside and helped me push these last several months. Just to name some: Aimee, Amy, Aliette, Alessa, Rodger, Mary, Lee, Other Lee, Robert, Scott, and Pierce. There’s a much longer list that I could recite; apologies if I’ve left anyone out.

I’m also grateful for my agent, the thirty-second daughter of Vlad Li Tam finally debuting here on these pages. Like the Other Jen, I made you taller, Jenn, and made you bad-ass with a knife. It’s a small token of my gratitude for all you’ve done.

This truly couldn’t happen without the fine folks at Tor. Their faith in these books is a great encouragement to me. Big thanks to Irene, Melissa, Patty, Alexa, Kyle, and all the other hands who’ve helped along the way.

I especially want to thank Beth Meacham. Beth, you are a wonderful editor and a lovely human. We work well together. Your support most recently through the death of my father and the birth of my daughters is a great gift in my life, and this book would not be here if it weren’t for your constant, caring approach to your writers.

And last but not least, thank
you
, Dear Reader. For those of you who’ve written via email or looked me up on Facebook, thank you. Your kind words about the series so far really do help me stay at the keyboard to lay down the next bits. I’m pleased that you’ve joined me here in
Antiphon
and I look forward to seeing you in
Requiem
really soon.

Until then, magick the scouts.

War is coming.

Ken Scholes

Saint Helens, Oregon

January 3, 2010

Ken Scholes is a winner of the Writers of the Future contest with short stories appearing in various magazines and anthologies since 2000.
Antiphon
is the third volume in his Psalms of Isaak series.

Ken grew up in a small logging town in the Pacific Northwest. He has honorable discharges from two branches of the military, a degree in history from Western Washington University, and is a former clergyman and label gun repairman. Ken lives near Portland, Oregon, with his wife, Jen West Scholes, and their twin daughters, Rachel and Elizabeth.

Ken invites readers to visit his website,
www.kenscholes.com
.