of the Rockefeller family through her marriage to financier and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. She was known for being the driving force behind the establishment of the Museum of Modern Art.
Abby Rockefeller began collecting paintings, watercolors, and drawings by a number of contemporary American artists in 1925, as well as a number of European modernists including Pablo Picasso.
There was a small Easter egg here, a reference to one of my YA books, Sid and Teddy. In Sid and Teddy, a young couple, very in love, stand just inside a door in Edinburgh looking out, seeing terrible weather, and deciding to go out anyway.
Kaitlyn and Magnus do the same thing, and Kaitlyn wonders about it... 466 years before. Sid and Teddy
Acknowledgments
A big thank you to David Sutton for beta-reading again. You have been here from the beginning and have a really great insight into the characters… This time you figured out that Mary of Guise was actually in Aberdeen in May of 1552 so I had to make her vacation with Kaitlyn and Magnus later in the summer. And you noted that I needed to add Gardyloo! The best part was that right when I was on the page, you mentioned that Kaitlyn and Magnus might want to renew their vows... and yes, they definitely did. Thank you for your notes, they make the story better and better.
A huge thank you to Heather Hawkes for beta-reading yet again and keeping my feet to the fire on Magnus. I know he can waver between cocky and too cocky, I’m glad you help me navigate it. He’s a real heroic boy, but also needs to be a lover too. I’m so glad you loved the story and thought the adventure was grand. Thank you for saying, “Amazingly awesome and beautiful as always!” And for all your help making it better.
Thank you to Kristen Schoenmann De Haan for pointing out to me (the first draft had Hayley drinking) that this was hard to watch. (I agree) I rewrote that part. And helping me work though some of the parts on Kaitlyn’s parents. And advising on how the Emma/Isla/Kaitlyn dynamic might work. I appreciate your enthusiasm for this story so much. Thank you.
Thank you to Jessica Fox for your thoughts... I was chin-deep in edits and hadn’t come up for a while, when your email arrived saying, “what a ride that was” and other awesome things that had me floating on air for a while. It means so much that on book 11 you still have all the emotions. Thank you.
And a special, gigantic thank you to Cynthia Tyler for so many great ideas. You pointed out that Magnus and Kaitlyn probably had Sweating Sickness (running rampant at that time) and told me that the entourage would be more likely to stay at Estates than taverns (thusly our gang stayed at Linlithgow, one of Mary of Guises and my own personal favorite palaces.) You read once with exuberance and then a second time with more detail, finding mistake after mistake, you help me make the story better and better. I’m filled with gratitude that you’re so good at this, thank you.
And a very big thank you to Keira Stevens for narrating and bringing Kaitlyn and Magnus to life. All the way up to book 8 so far, you’re amazing. I’m so proud that you’re a part of the team.
And thank you to Shane East for voicing Magnus. He is perfect.
Thank you to Gill Gayle and Emily Stouffer for believing in this story and working so tirelessly to bring Kaitlyn and Magnus to a broader audience. Your championing of Kaitlyn means so much to me.
And a special shoutout to Gill for saying about Black Duncan... “What a fine looking chap, that ruffle around his neck really makes his eyes pop.” That, of course, went in the book.
And thank you to Isobel Dowdee for advising me on their clothes, the photos, your advice on the sleeves, it all helped so much.
Thank you to Jackie Malecki and Angelique Mahfood for signing on to help admin the big and growing FB group. Your energy and positivity and humor and spirit, all the things you do and say and bring to the conversation fill me with gratitude. And thank you for giving me Hayley’s new drinks... Dirty Chai (Angelique) and Spicy Virgin Bloody Mary (Jackie) were both perfect, Hayley loves them both. Thank you. I’m so glad you’re there!
Thank you to Linda Rose Lynch for sharing the link to