Gustav Gloom and the People Taker (9781101620748) (13 page)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book, and the series to come, has only one father but a number of uncles and aunts.

You would not now be seeing it without the persistence of agents extraordinaire Joshua Bilmes and Eddie Schneider of the Jabberwocky Literary Agency; you would not now be reading it in its present form without the input of the members of the South Florida Science Fiction Society writer's workshop, a group that includes Brad Aiken, Dave Dunn, and Chris Negelein; you would not now be enjoying the same experience free of verbal land mines and other clutter without the ace red pen of editor Jordan Hamessley; you would not now be
ooh
ing and
aah
ing over the illustrations without the genius of artist Kristen Margiotta; you would not now be seeing any books from me at all without the patience, love, and constant encouragement of my beautiful wife, Judi B. Castro; you would not now be seeing a human being with my name and my face were it not for my parents, Saby and Joy Castro.

Michael Burstein contributed no input whatsoever to the composition of this volume, but has for years now made regular, inexplicable appearances on the acknowledgment pages of my books. I started this because it makes him yelp in bed and wakes up his wife, Nomi. I'm a strange man.

Adam-Troy Castro
has said in interviews that he likes to jump genres and styles and has therefore refused to ever stay in place long enough to permit the unwanted existence of a creature that could be called a “typical” Adam-Troy Castro story. As a result, his short works range from the wild farce of his Vossoff and Nimmitz tales to the grim Nebula nominee “Of a Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs.” His twenty prior books include a nonfiction analysis of the Harry Potter phenomenon, four Spider-Man adventures, and three novels about his interstellar murder investigator, Andrea Cort (including a winner of the Philip K. Dick Award,
Emissaries from the Dead
). Adam's other award nominations include eight Nebulas, two Hugos, and three Stokers. Adam lives in Miami with his wife, Judi, and three insane cats named Uma Furman, Meow Farrow, and Harley Quinn.

 

Kristen Margiotta
 attended the University of Delaware, where she majored in Visual Communications with a concentration in Illustration. Kristen received the Visual Communications Award for Excellence in Illustration, along with another colleague, during her final year at the university. When she graduated in 2005, Kristen began receiving commissions from buyers and selling her paintings. She also began exhibiting at regional galleries and events. In 2009, Kristen illustrated her first children's book,
Better Haunted Homes and Gardens
, and made her southwest gallery debut at the Pop Gallery in New Mexico. She is currently preparing for her first NYC gallery exhibit at the Animazing Gallery, scheduled for December 2012. Besides being an artist and illustrator, Kristen teaches at the Center for the Creative Arts in Yorklyn, Delaware, working with creative and exciting students who enjoy the arts.