The Girl Who Wrote in Silk (35 page)

There are many people who helped inspire, shape, and encourage this story and I am so thankful to each of them.

My deepest thanks to my husband, Chad, and our two boys, who believed all along that I would become a published author. They celebrated every milestone of every unpublished book I ever wrote, and they especially celebrated this one with me, from finished first draft to contract signing to final manuscript submission. Thank you for loving me and for giving me the time and space to write. (On that note, thanks also go to Xbox and LEGO for keeping my kids happily occupied while I wrote!)

I cannot thank my agent, Beth Miller, enough for seeing the soul of this story early on and helping me whip it into shape. Thank you for believing in me.

I also am so grateful for my editors, Shana Drehs and Anna Michels, for loving my story and for making it shine. I am thrilled to be working with you! The whole team at Sourcebooks are superheroes, in my opinion, and my thanks go to everyone who had a hand in bringing this book to life.

Huge thanks go to my writer friends, who’ve helped me brainstorm plot or work out problems with the manuscript. Thank you: Cherry Adair, Christina Arbini, Kira Brady, Kristine Cayne, Rebecca Clark, Carol Costantino, Lesa Dragon, Carolynn Estes, Heather Higgins, Julia Hunter, Emma Locke, Laurie London, Dona Sarkar, and Shelli Stevens. Your friendship, plotting sessions, and support mean so much to me. Carol, thank you for introducing me to embroidered Chinese sleeve bands, which inspired the embroidery in this story. Thank you!

Any inaccuracies or oversights in research are mine alone. Thank you to the following experts for your help: medical examiner William Barbour for information on dead bodies and decomposition, Eirena from the Orcas Museum, Bob Fisher from the Wing Luke Museum, and the authors of the settlers’ diaries that brought the San Juan Islands of the late 1800s to life.

Some very dear friends read early versions of this manuscript and gave me detailed critiques that helped me find focus and direction for the story. Ladies, I hope you know how much I treasure your honesty and thoughtful feedback. Thank you, Rebecca Clark, Melynie Elvidge, Laurie London, and Dona Sarkar.

Dona, you were the first person to make me believe I was a “real” writer, and you never once let me think otherwise in all the years since. I hope you know how huge that is.

And last, thank you to the Romance Writers of America and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association. Both organizations taught me so much about the craft and business of writing.

Photo by Chad Estes

Kelli Estes grew up in the apple country of eastern Washington before going to college at Arizona State University, where she learned she needs to live near water and where all four seasons can be experienced, so she moved to Seattle after graduation. There, she bought airplane parts for four years before finally getting the courage to try her hand at writing. Six manuscripts, two babies, and fourteen years later, her dream of a writing career came true with the publication of
The
Girl
Who
Wrote
in
Silk
.

Kelli now lives thirty minutes from Seattle with her husband and two sons. When not writing, she loves volunteering at her kids’ schools, reading, traveling, going out to eat, exercising (because of all the eating), and learning about health and nutrition. Connect with Kelli at
www.kelliestes.com
or sign up for her newsletter at
www.kelliestes.com/newslettersignup.php
.

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