A special thank you to the following individuals, without whom this book would not have made it from mind to paper: Catherine Asaro, who makes discussions on dying in space disturbingly fun; Charlotte Wager, a wonderful bookseller and person who didn't mind reading in a pinch;Rose, another great lady who said that lovely word, "yes,"when I'd asked the same thing; the Thursday night readers group at the Book Barn, always willing to share the "opinion from the trenches"; Theresa Ragan, for those treadmill brainstorming sessions and pity parties; my loyal readers, the ones who have stuck with me from the very beginning; and Chris Keeslar, whose teaching,encouragement, and badgering continues to make me abetter author with each new book.