Expiration Day (40 page)

So my first acknowledgment has to be to my long-suffering family—my wife, Avis, and my sons, Joseph and Francis. Thank you for tolerating and supporting my anti-social hobby.

I first got the writing bug in the dawn of time, in the school that I loved and affectionately parodied as Lady Maud's, that bug being nurtured briefly by one English master, Michael Birks, before being extinguished by the harsh requirements of O Levels. The writing bug resurfaced relatively recently in 2002, providentially just a few months before I was diagnosed with a serious illness, and unexpectedly found myself with time on my hands, which I filled with my first attempts to write novels. My next acknowledgment is therefore to my consultant—Dr. Jonathan Pattinson—and the wonderful staff at Wycombe General Hospital, who brought me through some nasty interludes and back to health.

Howard Whitehouse—my oldest friend, best man, gifted singer, and harmonica player. Oh, yes, and author. You have been a stalwart encourager, and a valued critic, and I have learned much from your input and from your own work. People, check him out.

I have been blessed to know a rich variety of vicars, ministers, priests, and preachers across a broad spectrum of Christian faith—too many to name individually. The character of Michael Deeley has borrowed a little from each of you, and he acknowledges his debt. Any faults in his character are mine, not yours.

I should also acknowledge the role played by a couple of “budding author” sites—YouWriteOn and the SFF Online Writing Workshop. Both helped me hone the early chapters and improve my style, so to those early and often anonymous critics, thank you.

When it came to looking for a publisher, I had little to guide me. My love of SF goes back to an earlier time, and the greats of that era have passed on. I was resigned to sticking a pin in the Writers and Artists Yearbook, until, listening to the audiobook of
Ender's Game,
I heard Orson Scott Card speak exceptionally highly of his publisher, Tom Doherty. So it was to Tor that I turned, with an unagented submission, going through the “slush pile” route, and I have been equally impressed. Kathleen Doherty and Susan Chang both read that first submission, saw the possibility of something better therein, and beyond my expectations were kind enough to tell me how I should improve it.

The process of working with Susan, when my rewrite was done, has been a model of mutual respect. Susan has a light touch to her editing, which stimulates and nurtures my creativity. I'm deeply impressed by the level of trust she's given me, a first-time author, to deliver rewrites to tight time constraints, and marvel at the reciprocal commitment on her part, turning round her own edits equally quickly, so that I always feel I have her complete attention.

I'm sure it's normal for an author, but I've got very attached to my characters. I always knew it would come out right in the end—the scene where Tania chooses the “Staff Only” door was in my plan almost from day one—but I put poor Tania through ever more pain and loss to get her there. If I can ever reach across the multiverse and say, sorry, Tania, for everything I put you through, I will.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

WILLIAM CAMPBELL POWELL
was born in Sheffield, England, and grew up in and around Birmingham, the “second city” of England. He attended King Edward's School in Birmingham and won a scholarship to Clare College, Cambridge, where initially he studied natural sciences and subsequently majored in computer science. He now lives in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, with his wife, Avis, and his two teenage sons.
Expiration Day
is his first novel.