Forged in Fire

Acknowledgments

For many years of help developing the storytelling craft I am first indebted to Tom and Kay Fleming for loving books and not having a TV in the house. Thanks, Dad, for reading out loud with all the accents and funny voices. Mom, thanks for letting me read about knights and castles instead of doing math.

I also owe thanks to many teachers, especially: Mrs. Gutshall, the best kindergarten teacher ever; Mr. G and Mrs. Huber, for welcoming me to a new town and believing in me; and Alice Suderman for teaching grammar and vocabulary to ninth graders with warmth and grace.

For help with reading and feedback of the early drafts, and for mind-clearing runs, and for believing the first and the most in this book, I owe David undying gratitude. Other family and faithful friends gave excellent feedback and much encouragement along the way: Ana and Abby are a little too sweet to give hard-hitting criticism, but telling a story that makes them happy makes the work worth it; Dave Kuhns stayed up way too late reading a draft, and that simple fact gave me great courage; Bryn Hovde and Jonathan Reuel love art and story more than anyone I know, and their passion is positively infectious; Christa Reuel’s brutal honesty makes her encouragement all the more meaningful.

I believe that living in vibrant communities makes a good writer, so I owe gratitude to an enormous cast of characters from: New Life, Growth Resourcing Group, Retrograde, the city of Wellman, Mid-Prairie, Hillcrest, and more. There are too many of you to name here, but I think of you often with deep gratitude and affection.

Finally, for Melissa – your love is the strongest and sweetest, and sharing life with you is the best.