The Demoness of Waking Dreams (36 page)

I will slay dragons to be with you,
he promised silently.
I will find a way.

Until then, he would listen for the whisper of her honeyed voice in his dreams.

* * * * *

Acknowledgments

Thanks once again to my own set of earthly guardians:

Valerie Gray, executive editor at Harlequin MIRA. This novel exists because of your persistence and creative guidance. The book’s dedication is a reference to T. S. Eliot’s dedication of
The Wasteland,
“For Ezra Pound:
il miglior fabbro
” (“the better craftsman”). My gratitude goes out to
la miglior fabbra,
the better craftswoman, for helping me and many others write stories that would otherwise only exist in our dreams.

The team at MIRA. To the art department,
bravo!
Another gorgeous cover—your work inspires me. To editorial assistant Michelle Venditti and the Sales, Marketing and PR Departments, thanks for your hard work and dedication to entertaining, enriching and inspiring.

Kimberly Whalen. Agent
favolosa
at Trident Media Group, your advice is invaluable.

Patricia, Garyen, Johanna. Parents and sister, thank you for your encouragement and support. Thanks especially to my mom for my first, wonderful trip to Venice. And for passing on your creative spark.

Friends, teachers, fellow writers. For your generosity of spirit and the lessons you’ve taught me, I’m truly grateful.
Grazie mille
to Linda Hutcheon for your unflagging belief in me, and for sharing your love of opera (and SO much more) with so many of your students.

Readers and bloggers. You have my most sincere appreciation, especially those who have reached out with kind words to welcome me into the romance community.

Dexter the pug. Thank you for bringing us so much love with your big pug smile.

* * *

My husband, Ed. Last of all, but first in my heart, thank you to my real-life Guardian. I’m constantly humbled by your commitment to excellence and your contributions to humanity. Every moment with you is truly a gift.

ISBN: 9781459237803

Copyright © 2012 by Stephanie Chong

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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