by Rysa Walker
Many people gave me feedback and advice that helped to shape this work. First, thanks to my wonderful developmental editor, Marianna Baer. I took most of her suggestions and probably should have taken all of them. Second, I need to mention several new beta readers who weren't in the mix for Timebound—Dan Wilson, Jen Gonzales, Jenny MacRunnel, Jen Weisner, Jessica Prate, Karen Benson, Karen Stansbury, Leisha Tanner, Stephanie Johns-Bragg, and the people I probably forgot but will remember as soon as this goes live. I owe all of you margaritas.
Special thanks to my team at Skyscape, the publisher for The CHRONOS Files series, and to Courtney Miller, my editor, for being flexible and allowing me to go "hybrid" with this novella.
I also want to thank my readers—both the small group that has waited patiently for something new since Timebound was originally published as Time's Twisted Arrow, back in 2012, and the many more who have read Timebound in recent months. Even in the middle of less pleasurable writing tasks (like editing or proofreading), your emails, tweets, and Facebook messages keep me inspired.
Finally, I'd like to thank the two people to whom I've dedicated this work, even though they're not here to read it. Decades before I dared to imagine that I could actually be an author, Harold and Mildred Sparks believed in me. One of the best Christmas presents I ever received was a print copy of The Writer's Market, back before you could search for agents and publishers online. I wasn't entirely sure what the book even was back then, but the meaning of the gift was clear—they knew I had a dream and they believed I could achieve it. Even though it took a while for me to listen, the message finally got through.