Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution (66 page)

I have also been incredibly fortunate in my relationship with Crown, a division of Random House filled with some of the most dedicated and wonderful people in the publishing industry. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to my copy editor, Susan Brown; to my production editor, Cindy Berman; and to both Patty Berg and Jay Sones in marketing, Dyana Messina in publicity, Jennifer O’Connor in the art department, and Kira Peikoff. Crown’s sales team has seen to it that my novels have been distributed far and wide, and I am deeply appreciative of their support. And to Laura Crisp, who was the driving force behind Target’s pick of
Nefertiti
as one of their Book Club selections, I cannot thank you enough.

Of course, my biggest thanks of all goes to Heather Lazare, my editor extraordinaire. An editor’s job extends
far
beyond the process of editing, yet Heather wears multiple hats with ease, making every day an absolute pleasure to work with her.

To Giulliana Benavides, Jessica Bracamontes, Sarah Crosthwaite, Chantelle Doss, and Ashley Turner, tremendous thanks for helping me sort through all of my research on Versailles and the French Revolution. And none of that research would have been possible without the incredible scholars who have written about the eighteenth century. Of the many books I used as resources, there are some that stand out as having been indispensable. Kate Berridge’s wonderful biography entitled
Madame Tussaud: A Life in Wax
comes to mind, as does Caroline Weber’s
Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution
, Antonia Fraser’s
Marie Antoinette: The Journey
, Elisabeth de Feydeau’s
A Scented Palace: The Secret History of Marie Antoinette’s Perfumer
, and Simon Schama’s
Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution
.

I am enormously grateful to Kathy, Dusty, and Ashley Rhodes, who allowed me to write this novel in their historic home in Southern California. And I owe a similar debt of gratitude to the many wonderful bloggers who have written about my books—the blogging community is very dear to my heart!

Last, I would like to thank my fantastic agent, Dan Lazar, whose guidance and advice have been invaluable to me. I have never known anyone who works so passionately at what they do. And to Maja Nikolic and Angharad Kowal, who have helped bring this novel to readers around the world, I am exceptionally grateful.