Rebels and Fools (The Renegade Chronicles Book 1) (49 page)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To
properly recognize every person who supported The Renegade Chronicles since I
first put fingertips to keyboard in 1997 would fill another entire book. To
spare the lives of a few trees, I’ll attempt to keep my kudos concise and thank
everyone who encouraged my creativity throughout the years, including:

Family
members who nurtured my imagination by making sure I always had paper and
pencils to map out new worlds and by exploring those places with me.

Dear
friends who called me “weird but in a good way,” indulged me when I spoke of
made-up people and strange plots, and provided feedback along the way.

Educators
who taught me the craft as well as bolstered my confidence—even though I was
only interested in writing stories with swords and magic.

Comrades-in-arms
whose critiques made me the writer I am today, especially the Allied Authors of
Wisconsin.

To
recognize a few of those individuals by name:

Robyn
Williams, who motivated her little brother to try his hand at the written word
and who inadvertently helped invent two main characters in this series.

Stephanie
Williams, my incredible wife, whose interest in Altaerra and its populace in
1994 prompted me to record those stories in copious notebooks and who has
supported me in so many ways over the past two decades.

Judith
Barisonzi, who taught me the fundamentals of story-telling, how to write on
deadline, and the truth that great writing transcends genre.

Alan
Hathaway, who inspired me to pursue my dream and also made accommodations so I
could make it a reality.

Jake
Weiss, a good friend and brilliant designer who exceed-ed all expectations for
the cover art.

Fern
Ramirez, who always sees the best in a story even while seeking out its flaws.

And
last but not least, Tom Ramirez, who has played a variety of parts since we met
at that auspicious rummage sale in 2005—from surrogate grandfather and role
model to tireless cheerleader and invaluable friend.

It’s
been a long, strange journey, and I consider myself very blessed indeed.

ABOUT THE
AUTHOR

Photo: Jaime Lynn Hunt

David
Michael Williams
was exposed to sword-and-sorcery fantasy at the tender age of 12. He dove
headlong into fiction writing when he competed in a short story contest in
sixth grade. While the tale—a glorified battle scene, really—garnered no
accolades, two of its characters survived for many years thereafter and appear
in The Renegade Chronicles.

David
lives in Wisconsin with an amazing wife (who somehow puts up with his storytelling
addiction) and two larger-than-life children.

Visit
his website at
david-michael-williams.com
.