Oathbreaker: The Knight's Tale (17 page)
Dedication
This book is dedicated to the three most important women in my life: my daughter, my wife, and my mother, and to the two most important men: my son and my stepfather. To the family I grew with, and the family I'm growing. Your support and your love are my world, the walls of which can face the fiercest storms.
Acknowledgements
This is the part where I get to thank everyone without whose help I could not have done even this much. Naturally, all errors are mine. Any advice or insight provided to me was done so on the basis of expertise and authority, and I converted it for use in developing the story. If I have destroyed details, forgotten something, or bastardized that knowledge, it is entirely my responsibility and no blame should accrue to others.
Many thanks to those who worked on this book. It is good to know people, but in particular, it is very, very good to know these people.
- My editor, Ray Vallese, who needs no adjective because he is superlative.
- My fantastic cover artist, Stone Perales (
www.stonewurks.com
) - Graphic designer extraordinaire, Don Strandell (
www.donstrandell.com
) - Electronic formatting maestro, game designer, and writer Guido Henkel (
www.guidohenkel.com
) - Andrew Hernandez, for suggestions, advice, and help of all stripes
To my first readers: Bradford Clay Matheson, Gavin and Scott McComb, Kevin Pohle (and Toni and Andrew and Nickel), David Thomas, and David Wise. Your insights and enthusiasm kept me going.
For invaluable advice, whether they knew they were giving it or not: Phil Athans, my brother Mike McComb of the US Navy, and Pierce Watters.
For some particular friends, who helped spark my brain: Chris Avellone, who is dreamy; Chip Bumgardner, who is fearless; Monte Cook, who taught me to yes, have some; Bruce Cordell, leader of Team Ninja; Tony, Angela, and Sophia DiTerlizzi for a friendship almost two decades long; Paul and Jen Kemp and their three rapscallions (can I say rapscallions? Awesome); Sean Reynolds for being shavey first; and Steven Schend and Sarah Joseph and young Oscar, who is soon to be a big brother.
Many thanks to my patrons, both the ridiculously generous and the very interested. You know who you are. Your aid, no matter the amount, was humbling and uplifting. It is my sincere hope that you feel you've received fair value for your faith, and that you'll stick around to see where the story goes. Without you, this book might well have remained unpublished and unpolished.
To my senior patrons: Clinton J. Boomer, Will Cronenwett, Steven Dengler, and Nancy Wastcoat Garbett—enjoy your villainy!
To the faithful: Johnny Earle, Isabella McColi (the cat who made it possible), and Michelle Vuckovich, the original cool girl (now the cool woman).
To the players: Paul Buss (whose company I miss), my dearest sister Babbie Lester, my kindest brother Gavin McComb, Dick Olson who is venturing far from his comfort zone (brave soul!), and Michael Stoyanovich, with a perspective we should emulate.
To the fruitful: Amy Canaday and her delightful children, and to la familia Ortiz (Pablo, Mariela, Victoria, y Santiago), muchas mas gracias, and to Carrie Read (I'm still sorry about the F-word!), and to Aunt Polly Weissman.
To the readers: Paul Barrett, Jára Červinka, Bruce Cordell, Brian Darnell, Uncle John and Aunt Babbie Earle, Nathan Filizzi, Scott Gable, Mary “Dr. Dream Chaser” Gebhart, Apollo Haner, Tracy Davis Hurley, Nicole Lindroos, Erik Lundqvist, Ben McFarland, Ryan Merlo (who is not a dick, no matter what Dan says), the vulture Danielle Radford, Steven Schend, Christopher Simokat, Aunt Wendy Sopkovich, Rob Steiner, Bradford Stephens, Val & Trevor & Delaney Vallese, and Aunt Connie Wastcoat and Don Strandell.
Thank you. Thank you all.
About the Author
Colin McComb was born in 1970 and began to read at the age of 4. At the age of 10 he began to game. At 12 he knew what he wanted to be. At 21, he began to write professionally, first for TSR, Inc., where he wrote adventures and created worlds for the
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
roleplaying game
,
including the Birthright campaign setting and significant work on Planescape. It was this latter work that led him to California and Black Isle Studios, where he contributed to
Planescape: Torment,
consistently (and independently) voted as one of the best computer RPGs ever (if he does say so himself). He met his wife, the beautiful and talented Robin Moulder, and moved to Michigan in 2000. He has contributed to Paizo Publishing, Malhavoc Press, Open Design, and many more.
Colin is a member of two author collectives: the Alliterati and the Monumental Works Group (www.monumentalworksgroup.com).
Oathbreaker
is his first published fiction.
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