Acknowledgments

I am so honored and delighted to have the opportunity to take you back into the twilight to follow Rose Marshall through another adventure. In a way, this is her first novel: Sparrow Hill Road was what we call a “fix up,” a collection of short stories strung together by a thin narrative thread. The Girl in the Green Silk Gown, on the other hand, is a single adventure, which means I had a lot more distance to cover, and a lot more chances to torment poor Rose. (Rose . . . would not thank you for this opportunity. Good thing she’s fictional.)

This book is dedicated to my dearly beloved friend Amal El-Mohtar, who was kind enough to email and let me know when Hadestown was having its initial New York run. That’s not the only reason it’s dedicated to her—she is a splendid jewel of a human being—but it definitely helps. Thanks also to Merav Hoffman, Jonathan Lennox, and Terry Karney, for hosting me during that trip, and dealing with my wandering around the house singing “Wait for Me” at the top of my lungs and at unpredictable hours. It’s always nice to have friends who understand where you’re coming from.

This book can be lain in part at the feet of Talis Kimberley, whose soothing presence and calm words helped me to ground myself once more in the world of the ghostroads, where nothing that is truly loved is lost forever, and where there’s always a way to get where you’re going, if you’re patient, if you’re willing to pay the price.

My machete squad is one of the best in the world, and I will fight anyone who says they’re not. Without them, I would make infinitely more mistakes, and be infinitely sadder. Britt Sabo drew and colored the incredible promo comic that introduced people to Rose’s return, and I am so very grateful. Chris Mangum maintains my website code, while Tara O’Shea maintains my graphics, and they are so good. Thanks to everyone at DAW, the best home my heart could have, and to the wonderful folks in marketing and publicity at Penguin Random House.

The cover for this book, and the matching cover for the new edition of Sparrow Hill Road, were drawn by the incredible Amber Whitney, of Unicorn Empire Designs. I am honored and thrilled by her work, which makes everything seem so much better and brighter. What a joy she is to work with.

It is sadly fitting that in a book about ghosts, I have to pause to mark a passing. My beloved Alice, best of all cats, first of my Maine Coons, has passed into the clearing where the living cannot follow. She was diagnosed with lymphoma in July of 2017, and she fought so hard, and we did everything we could, but we always knew how this story ended. Our treatment was focused entirely on giving her the best possible life, and when she had nothing left, we let her go. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I miss her so much. She was so good. I think I’m always going to miss her.

Back to gratitude. Thank you to the people who’ve come to see me at bookstores and conventions around the country and the world; to Daniel and Kelly for introducing me to butter chicken pies; to Michelle Dockrey, for continuing to answer the phone; to Chris Mangum, for coming home; to Max and Mara, for helping me to find Elsie; and to my dearest Amy McNally, for everything. Thanks to Borderlands Books, for putting up with me. And to you: thank you, so much, for reading.

Any errors in this book are my own. The errors that aren’t here are the ones that all these people helped me fix. I appreciate it so much.

Wait for me.