Just because I did the writing, the copy-editing, the cover design, the voicing and production of the audiobook, and the marketing for City of Masks doesn’t mean it’s a one-man production. It wouldn’t be nearly as good without these excellent people:
- The former Cityside book group: Andrew, Brenda, Derek, John, Karl, Nicole and Arthur, who liked the first two chapters and encouraged me to write more. Arthur, in particular, kept encouraging me at intervals until I finally finished it.
- My hand-picked critique group: Andrew, Brenda, Derek, Pam, Arthur, Kristen, Mark, Sarah, Gabrielle and Evelyn, who gave excellent feedback and insisted it should be longer.
- Erin, who besides being my wife – not a small contribution – picked up a potentially embarrassing mistake in the penultimate proof, and suggested much-needed improvements for the blurb.
- Joshua, who made helpful comments on several of the early chapters.
- Donia, who allowed me to use her beautiful mask illustration for the cover in exchange for acknowledgement.
- Jon Sayles, who loves Renaissance music so much, he set it free. All the incidental music in the podcast and audiobook is performed, excellently, by Jon.
Also, of course, it wouldn’t have been possible at all without the millions of people, sung and unsung, who have deliberately or otherwise contributed to developing the technologies of affordable digital publishing. When you have enough normal-sized people to stand on the shoulders of, giants are superfluous.
Mike Reeves-McMillan lives in Auckland, New Zealand, the setting of his Auckland Allies contemporary urban fantasy series; and also in his head, where the weather is more reliable, and there are a lot more wizards. He also writes the Gryphon Clerks series (steampunk/magepunk), the Hand of the Trickster series (sword-and-sorcery heist capers), and short stories which have appeared in venues such as Compelling Science Fiction and Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores.
