A Flight of Fancy (38 page)

Whittaker stared at him. The man was serious.

“I think Cassandra deserves better than an elopement,” Whittaker said.

“I already have better.” Cassandra reached up and covered his hand where it rested on her shoulder. “Gretna Green sounds perfect.”

“And here I thought I would be the one to elope one day,” Honore said.

Acknowledgments

In no way can a few words here express my thanks to all of the people who assisted me in getting through this novel—the cyber hugs, prayers, and phone calls encouraging me while my life felt like chaos. Gina, Patty, Debbie Lynne, Carrie—you’re my four musketeers. Thanks to Deb Kinnard too, for making me stick to my daily word count.

Since the Regency is such a special time period with details and mores that readers expect the author to get right, I cannot leave out those who helped me with everything from geography, to research materials regarding the Luddite rebellion, to just the right phrase to sound authentic, especially Nancy Mayer and Jo Ann Ferguson.

And a special thanks to the ladies in the ACFW historical writers group, who described how riding in a balloon feels, as I could never work a trip of my own into my schedule. I will, though.

Google Books—the public domain books—have been an invaluable resource for this era, from the medical controversy over
how to treat burns, to the discussion of formulas for keeping air from seeping out of balloons, to the description of the air tube coming out of a balloon and the aeronaut having to fix it in flight. Of course, similar things must happen to my heroine.

Thank you to my agent, Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency, for not letting me give up on writing a Christian Regency romance.

Last, and never least, thank you to my patient, thorough, and all-around wonderful editors at Revell. Vicki and Jessica, you challenge me to keep improving as a writer.

Laurie Alice Eakes
used to li
e in bed as a child telling herself stories so she didn’t wake anyone else up. Sometimes she shared her stories with others, so when she decided to be a writer, she surprised no one.
Family Guardian
, her first book, won the National Readers Choice Award for Best Regency in 2007.

In the past three years, she has sold six books to Revell, five of which are set during the Regency time period; five books to Barbour Publishing; and two novellas to Barbour Publishing and one to Revell. Seven of her books have been picked up by Thorndike Press for large-print publication, and
Lady in the Mist
, her first book with Revell, was chosen for hardcover publication by Crossings Book Club.

Laurie Alice teaches online writing courses and enjoys a speaking ministry that takes her from the Gulf Coast to the East Coast. She lives in Texas with her husband, two dogs, and two cats and is learning how to make tamales.

Books by Laurie Alice Eakes

T
HE
M
IDWIVES

Lady in the Mist

Heart’s Safe Passage

T
HE
D
AUGHTERS
OF
B
AINBRIDGE
H
OUSE

A Necessary Deception

A Flight of Fancy

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