Over the years I've also received a great deal of helpful feedback from other friends. I don't want to identify them by name, because any list I make will soon be out of date. However, I would like to extend special thanks to Don Strange, who has now read the entire series, noting errors as he went.
Novelists, if they are lucky, are not forced to work in isolation; they have partners. My primary partner is Janet Shorten, a professional literary editor. Janet has reviewed more drafts than the two of us can now count. In every case, Janet’s editing reflected her extraordinary technical command of the many challenges novelists face: character portrayal, plot development, book structure, sentence syntax, word usage, and the boundaries of taste novelists should adhere to. Her critiques have always been insightful, judicious, and constructive. I have benefited enormously from her guidance and steadfast encouragement.
Among the many favours Janet granted me was to introduce the Avernus Gate series to her sister, Barbara Horst. It turns out that Barb has a genius for proofreading. (Big-name publishers distinguish copyediting from proofreading. Copyeditors have a long list of duties. Proofreaders focus on typos and other small errors.) As Barb proceeds with her reading, she flags any errors she notices. I very much appreciate her efforts and close attention.
In late 2017, my good friend Reiner Hollbach introduced me to Eileen Hennemann, who is a partner with the Ottawa firm Hennemann Stanley Design. The exceptional artistic and design talents of Eileen and her partner Allan Stanley are visible on every page of this website.
Also visible on the website is a photograph taken by another of my oldest friends, Ed Dunnett. I very much appreciate his contribution.
