The Tin Horse: A Novel (49 page)

The insights and encouragement of writer friends started with Abigail Padgett and Sara Lewis, who pushed me to write this story that kept knocking at my door. For deep, truly constructive feedback, kisses to the Flaming Tulips—Abigail Padgett, Anne Marie Welsh, Carolyn Marsden, Lillian Faderman, Oliva Espin, Robin Cruise, and Sheryl Tempchin—and to Ann Elwood and Mary Lou Locke. Another important reader was the person who made me fall in love with books: my mom, Harriet Steinberg.

It’s a rare joy for an author to find an insightful reader who engages
deeply with her work. When I approached the publishing world, I had the great fortune of finding a dream team of such readers. My agent, Susan Golomb, was my first brilliant editor and has been my champion throughout the journey to publication. Elaine became as real and important to Kendra Harpster, my editor at Random House, as she was to me. More than that, Kendra expanded my vision of what the book could be; she saw what wasn’t yet on the page but was in Elaine’s heart and in her world. And Susan Kamil at Random House had an astonishing ability to zero in on big-picture issues. Thanks also to Eliza Rothstein at the Susan Golomb Literary Agency and Kaela Myers at Random House.

My husband, Jack Cassidy, lived the book with me from the beginning—touring Boyle Heights with me, listening as I talked through problems, celebrating every triumph, and keeping my spirits up the rest of the time. My gratitude to him is beyond measure.

J
ANICE
S
TEINBERG
is an award-winning arts journalist who has published more than four hundred articles in
The San Diego Union-Tribune
,
Dance Magazine
,
Los Angeles Times
, and elsewhere. She is also the author of five mystery novels, including the Shamus Award–nominated
Death in a City of Mystics
. She has taught fiction writing at the University of California, San Diego, and dance criticism at San Diego State University. A native of Wisconsin, she received a B.A. and M.A. from the University of California, Irvine. She holds a blue belt in the Nia dance-fitness practice and teaches weekly classes. She lives in San Diego with her husband.