The shadow of movement outside drew me to the window, where the light of the moon set off the trees in a haunting silhouette. It was only a bird—a hawk, in fact—landing on the old oak nearest the house. The hawk settled onto the branch with its profile turned in my direction, but it was too far to tell if its eyes were closed, or fixed on me. I could not have said whether or not this was the same hawk whose attack had driven me to Fellstone Castle and initiated all the events that had followed, but if it was… well, stranger things had happened since then. For now, I took it as a sign of how much I still had to learn.
I believed that knowledge was strength. At the moment, I could not open the conjurer’s book, but I was the daughter of a locksmith, and I had not yet found a lock that could keep me out. I would find my way into its secrets soon enough.
The End.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My heartfelt gratitude to these wonderful writers who’ve kept me motivated throughout the years with their feedback, friendship, advice, and encouragement:
Ilo Orleans, CV Herst, Lisa Mammal, Mike Sundy, Jill Ferguson, Patricia Houden, Vandy Shrader, Kris Newby, Jocelyn Osier, Ken Kuwayti, Ken Sharp, Nada Djordjevich, Alexandra Amarell, Sheila Bonini, Laura Browne, Cindy Cheung, Linda Martin Collery, Vicki de Mey, Phyllis Housen, Quanie Miller, Anton Gill, Harvey Jacobs, Allen Rosenberg, Jerry Sexton, Debbie Steinmetz, and Julie van den Hout.
Thank you to my wine group for being the place where we can talk about anything, no matter how weird. You keep my writing life fueled: Giuliano Carlini, David Cox, Vicki Cox, Laura Draxler, Susan Rendina, John Sadler, Frank Sarnquist, and Lori Trippel.
Truth comes out in wine. -Pliny the Elder
A special thanks to screenwriter Donna Brodsky, whose talent, kindness, and never-say-die attitude continue to inspire me.
Sheri Davenport, I couldn’t have made it this far without you. Accomplice and ally, travel buddy and writer/reader/sympathizer… thank you for following this path with me.
Undying gratitude to Maria Jose Fernandez-Sarabia Bischoff, dear friend and fellow crazy person, who, if there were fairness in the world, would’ve outlived me.
Much love to my American and Turkish families for their patience and support: George & Harriet Benedict, Bill & Kay Liscomb, Jim Benedict, Ahmet & Huriser Kaptanoğlu, and Sabahattin & Mine Günceler. Mom and Kay, I can never thank you enough for the thousands of words you’ve tirelessly read, and the myriad of ways you’ve made my writing better.
To the four men at the center of my universe—my husband Sinan and sons Tanner, Alan, and Derek:
A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it. -George Moore
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Prior to Dreadmarrow Thief, Marjory Kaptanoglu wrote many short and feature-length screenplays. Her scripts have won the Grand Prize in the Cynosure Screenwriting Awards, Slamdance Film Festival, International Horror & Sci-fi Film Festival, and Harlem International Film Festival, and have been recognized by the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting. The indie films produced from her scripts have screened at major international film festivals, winning several awards. Most recently, she co-wrote (with Ilo Orleans and Phyllis Housen) the feature film, Slander, an adaptation of Christopher Bram’s novel, Gossip.
Before turning to writing, she worked as a software engineer at Apple Computer, where she designed the text-editing software for early versions of the Macintosh. She graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in English, and continues to reside in the San Francisco Bay Area.
To contact Marjory, join her newsletter, or learn about her upcoming novels, visit marjorykaptanoglu.com or fb.me/marjorykaptanoglu.
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