from pesha rubinstein , my literary agent , who saw some glimmer in the rough-cut draft ; to lyssa keusch , my editor , who painstakingly polished this story into its current form ; to my writing group , who arduously picked apart the plot and made it better ( chris crowe , dennis grayson , dave meek , jeffrey moss , jane o'riva , stephen and judy prey , caroline williams ) ; and a special thanks to carolyn mccray , for her support , criticism , love , and friendship .