The Reborn (The Day Eight Series Part 1) (27 page)

Acknowledgements

(I thank
YOU
at the bottom.)

Many people are incredible. Foremost are those who go out of their way to help others. Here are some of the people who have given their invaluable time and energy to help make the
Day Eight
series so much better than I could have produced alone.

First,
Laura
, my wonderful wife, for reading multiple versions of the manuscript and giving me not just logical notes, but emotional feedback as well. And also for convincing me to finish when I had only completed the first part of the book – I wouldn’t have persevered otherwise.

Second, my
parents
, for cultivating in me an endless hunger for creativity, a connection to books, and a critical mind.

And
Ira Fay
for being the first reader of the full manuscript and providing honest feedback which led to large changes, all for the better. And for his intellectual company during our Irazza/Firazza lunches.

Eric & Clarissa Holmberg-Weidler
for their copious notes, chapter ratings, and enthusiasm.

Eric Ries
, author of
The Lean Startup
, for the best editorial notes and militant eye for trimming language to be short and vigorous.

Barbara Thomason
for motivating me and catching the most tricky errors and typos in the manuscript.

Shawn Patton
for a great, honest review and comparison to Neal Stephenson (the story, not my prose!).

Aaron Houts
and
David Saslav
for their useful insights and conversations.

The
Nanowrimo
for getting me over the first hurdle. It was the worst of my writing and needed lots of rework, but it was also the most important. Without it, I would be novel-less.

And you!
Yes, you, my dedicated reader! Thank you for trusting me with your time and attention. I hope I’ve shared not only an exciting story, but also (if you’ve read all three parts) given you moments of reflection on what it means to be human, where we came from, the meaning of existence, and where technology and humanity might be headed. In other words, I hope I have
changed
you – if only in some small way – for the better. Or the deeper.

And I hope to do it again.

Which is why I would love to know what you thought!
Please email me
at
[email protected]
. I promise I will read your mail and take it to heart. And who knows? If I have words in me, maybe I’ll respond!

Lastly, if you enjoyed The Reborn, it would mean a great deal to me if you would
go to Amazon right now and write me a review
.
The more good, honest reviews I get, the more likely I’ll be able to give you – my dedicated reader – another story!

Best Wishes and Happy Reading,
Ray Mazza

Ray Mazza is a graduate of Colby College and has a Master of Entertainment Technology degree from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a Creative Director and Lead Designer of many hit video games, and lives in California with his wonderful wife, Laura.