I have a wonderful group of friends and family who I can always count on to read my novels and give me straight ahead feedback. Those who braved the waters of Stringers were my wife, my Dad (first place ribbon, quickest beta-reader out there, helped un-meh a few things), old and dear friend Matthew Pierce, Marith Zoli, Gabriela Houston (The Second Bell), R.W.W. Greene (The Light Years and Twenty-Five to Life), fellow flash writer Michael Carter (Boneyard), who made sure my flyfishing stuff was accurate (“Ask two fly-fisherman the same question, you’ll get three different answers”), Noelle Salazar (The Flight Girls), and Dan Hanks (Captain Moxley and the Embers of the Empire and Swashbucklers), who I personally insult in Chapter Thirty-One. To my wife – thanks for the support and encouragement. It meant everything to me. But most of all, thanks for “dick-knuckle” which I used in Chapter Eight.

It was my Agent, Hannah Fergesen at KT Literary, who suggested that I submit Stringers to Angry Robot, so file any complaints with her. In the space of a few days, Hannah helped me shape the story’s opening chapters into something that had real life to it. Her suggestions altered the course of the story and improved it immeasurably. I’m fortunate to have an agent who will pitch a book like this (and likewise a publisher who read a proposal heavy on bug sex and went, “Yeah, that”).

I love working with the genuinely great people at Angry Robot. Eleanor Teasdale, Sam McQueen, Caroline Lambe, and my editor Gemma Creffield, who again guided a book of mine through the final process. I am continually wowed by her ability to latch onto a story and see it with clearer eyes than me as well as her patience for my next level neuroses. Andrew Hook is a fantastic copy-editor and I’m so glad he put his eyes on this. The cover process was great because we always get there despite my bombing them with my nectar-fueled concepts. Kieryn Tyler delivered an absolutely stunning design. I love it.

Thank you to all the drunks in the Transpatial Tavern for your support, enlightenment, patience, and advice.

I want to make sure to acknowledge all the passion, time, and effort put in by people who love books and help to raise their profiles, especially those by publishers outside the big four (three? Two?). Book Sellers (like Kel in Indiana, Hey!), book bloggers, booktubers, bookstagrammers, and booktokers are all part of a hugely important ecosystem for authors and publishers. I see the work you do and hope many others do too. Thank you.

Google: thanks for all the animal facts. I did double and triple check my data, so I apologize if I got anything wrong and to any animals whose reputations were sullied by the publication of this book. I promise it was intended as a love letter to the Animal Kingdom.