So many people read versions of this book and gave me invaluable feedback along the way: Hope Cook, Lisa Robinson, Kathryn Rose, Emma Kress, Kristen Lippert-Martin, and Marci Curtis. This book wouldn't have happened without their astute eyes and willingness to be open and honest.

When I wrote Sweet Unrest, I'd always planned on Thisbe being more than just the big bad. Much of her story, especially the gory details of the German Coast uprising, comes straight from the history books. Daniel Rasmussen's book American Uprising is essential reading for anyone who wants to know more about the brave men and women who made a stand for their freedom in 1811 and the horrible cost they paid. But while I've tried to make the history in this book accurate, I've taken quite a few liberties with the magic. For more about what Voodoo really looks like in the Delta region, I'd suggest the incomparable Zora Neale Hurston's Mules and Men and Tell My Horse.

Finally, I have to thank my familyI'm grateful for my boys, who didn't mutiny while Mama was staring at her computer. And, of course, to Jason, who never ceases to amaze me with his willingness to support my writing and me, even when I'm at my worst. None of this would mean anything without my guys.

Cameron Whitman Photography, LLC.

About the Author.

Growing up in Northeastern Ohio, Lisa Maxwell liked reading so much that she gave up her rather sensible idea of becoming a lawyer and decided instead to get a not-so-sensible degree in English. And then she got another ... and another. It seems to have worked out. When she's not writing books, she teaches English at a local college. She lives near DC with her very patient husband and two not-so-patient boys. You can visit her online at www.lisa-maxwell.com or find her most days on Twitter @LisaMaxwellYA.

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