Music of Ghosts (32 page)

“Mary?” Stratton's voice brought her back from that long-ago night. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine, in fact.” She turned as the breeze carried the strains of a new square dance.

He stood up and grabbed her hand. “Then shall we rejoin the dance?”

“Absolutely,” she replied, smiling as he pulled her toward the ladder and the life that awaited. “I think we both have a lot to celebrate.”

Acknowledgments

No book is written without the help of angels and ghosts. My ghosts know who they are; my angels are as follows:

Ann Lewis, friend, activist, partner in the delicious crime of novel research. I owe you much, MSP.

Doris Mager, founder of Save Our American Raptors, who taught me a lot about birds, but a lot more about living your passion.

Mary Beth Brynam and Susie Wright, co-founders of Asheville's Wild For Life, whose kindness and generosity extended to me, along with their furred and feathered friends.

Bob Lewis, good pal and good tennis player, without whom I would have been computer-less at a critical junction.

Clare Fisher, who helped me re-visit undergraduate life.

Cynthia Perkins, my go-to first reader whose enthusiasm has never faltered.

Robbie Anna Hare, agent extraordinaire.

Finally, to my friends and fans who waited so patiently for more Mary Crow—my thanks to you all.

About the Author

Sallie Bissell is a native of Nashville, Tennessee, and a graduate of George Peabody College. She won first place in her second grade essay contest and has, in varying capacities, been writing ever since. A former ghost writer for Bonnie Bryant's Saddle Club series, Bissell introduced her character Mary Crow in her first adult novel,
In the Forest Of Harm
.
Music of Ghosts
is Bissell's fifth Mary Crow book, and she has a sixth one in progress. Bissell is a Shamus Award nominee and her work has been translated into six foreign languages. She currently divides her time between Nashville and Asheville, North Carolina, where she enjoys tennis and an occasional horseback ride.