Acknowledgements


It is said that it takes a village to raise a child. It also took a village—a huge, honkin’ one, probably better described as a city—to get An Unexpected Song off the ground and to keep it aloft. Over nearly eighteen(!) years of this project, I have been blessed by the help of many people who have generously donated their time and talents to make the story better. I apologize for taking so long to get to the end!

Betas and other reviewers

  • Kathy: Definitely first in a list of wonderful people! For brainstorming sessions into the wee hours of the morning, talking over plot points. I recently found copies of some of our lengthy discussions from 2003; it’s amazing how much the story evolved due to your influence. Also for helping me to find Lizzy’s singing voice. And I bow down before your Photoshop wizardry. It’s not every author who has someone who can add an extra floor to a house, build a moonlit garden from a few random pixels, and convert a view of brilliant daylight into a starry night sky.
  • Linda: for daring me to give fiction writing a try, for discussing ideas with me months before the first word was posted, and for suggesting that I learn about congenital heart defects. William would have been an entirely different man if not for your influence on the story.
  • Cat: for your stream-of-consciousness reviews that helped me to understand what my readers might be thinking, thus heading off confusion and chaos at the pass.
  • Terry: for taking over for Cat when she developed wanderlust, for the lively and helpful email discussions about plot ideas, and for your never-flagging enthusiasm. And for giving me feedback during my attempt to get the story going again on 2015.
  • Alyson: for monitoring my use (and misuse) of compound and hyphenated words, for your honesty about character fidelity (even when I didn’t want to hear it), and for nagging me into writing the Mild version.
  • LisaJH: for keeping the guys sounding like guys in the early chapters of the story, and for sharing writing craft resources.
  • Ellen, Sue, Elizabeth, Daytona, and Gayle: for helping me with a 2015 editing project.
  • Wendy and Debra: For reviewing my outline for for Georgiana’s story arc, to make sure I hadn’t gone insane during my writing hiatus.
  • Maria: For serving as cold reader for Georgiana’s story arc—discussing the draft chapters with me in depth, giving me stream-of-consciousness thoughts, and helping me to identify some things that needed clarification as well as some dangling plot threads I hadn’t noticed.

Location consultants, subject experts, and tour buddies

  • Dorine: for helping me to pick New York neighborhoods for William and Elizabeth.
  • LisaJH: for insights about the New York cabaret scene, upscale Manhattan restaurants, Lincoln Center, and buildings without doormen.
  • Terry, Maria, Dorine, and Kathy: for joining me on the AUS tour of Manhattan in November ’03.
  • Anne Marie: for finding the perfect condo for Lizzy and Jane, for your Haight-Ashbury photo tour, for your expertise about San Francisco, music, and cuisine, and for being my AUS SF tour guide in October ’04. Thanks also for suggesting the achingly gorgeous Brahms Intermezzo along with some other great music I was able to use.
  • Roya: for the encouragement and emotional support, for helping me to find Rosings, and for the enjoyable dinners in October ’04.
  • Mary Ellen: for contributing photos of AUS locations in San Francisco and the New York townhouse, and for still being around and interested in the story seventeen years later.
  • Clare: for helping to plan William’s trip to Australia, the one story location I’ve never visited (it’s on my bucket list), and for giving me permission to use the word "mate,” though only once.
  • Mary O: for supplementing Clare’s suggestions, for bringing back photos of some of the story locations from your trip Down Under, for an enjoyable day with you and your hubby in DC, and for the picture you sent me, which for years had a place of honor in my office.
  • Elizabeth VB: for advice on Caroline Bingley’s legal problems and Los Angeles neighborhoods, and for the Cedars-Sinai traffic report.
  • Shawna: for her help with a Georgetown location.
  • JulietR and her daughter Ellie: for helping to make a therapy session more authentic.
  • Mari J: for her help with questions about the legalities involved in issues of paternity and inheritance.
  • Valentina: for reviewing—and correcting—my attempts at injecting a little Italian into the final chapter.
  • To others who suggested story locations that I was never able to use: thank you all the same. I simply had more possible locations than page space!

Fellow authors and site moderators

  • Rachael: for writing Someone Like You , the story that lured me into the world of modern P&P adaptations, at which I had originally turned up my very prejudiced (and possibly proud) nose. I wish I could find the story to read it again, but from what I’ve read on a couple of boards, it is gone. It presented Darcy as a gentleman farmer in England and was absolutely charming.
  • LisaL: for your encouragement, for the Firthness author interview, and for the excellent advice about the fanfic world, some of which I even took.
  • Heather Lynn: for the fabulous idea of inserting music excerpts into a story.
  • Victoria: for the Word macros that helped me with chapter editing back when I was writing in Word.
  • KarenR of Drool: for inadvertently teaching me why it was so important to maintain control over the posting and editing of my work.
  • Melly, Amber, and the admin/moderator teams at HG and Firthness: for setting up two such wonderful communities in which to dip a toe into the fiction-writing waters. I still miss those places.
  • Jen (aka ClaireM) and the other AHA admins: for the warm welcome to AHA, for trusting me with HTML access, and for being kind and and patient when I did weird things and needed help. And for helping me figure out my problem with secure (and non-secure) image posting.

Content contributors

  • Ellen: for building a PDF version of the story in its form several years ago, for the "Classical Love" CDs, and for the general encouragement. I wish my work fit the Meryton Press parameters, but I haven’t yet learned to be concise!
  • The dedicated group of women who asked permission to translate the story into Russian: thank you for your energy and hard work. They did the first 75% or so; I’m sure they would have finished if I hadn’t taken my long sabbatical from writing.
  • Carol, romi, Olja, and Lianne: for creating AUS-inspired graphics.
  • WhimsyMom: for the AUS bingo card, first posted on AHA.
  • Those who suggested songs or piano pieces that ought to go in the story: for the great ideas. There wasn’t room for every suggestion, but they were all welcome (yes, Shawna, even yours :D).

Readers and Friends

  • To the DC area P&P friends circle (Carol, Jenny, Shawna, Davidia, and Ellen), before we scattered to the winds: thanks for many weekend afternoons and evenings of fun and fellowship.
  • Patty: for being my vociferous all-occasion defender, even if you didn’t like Lizzy for a while there. I hope they have WiFi in heaven so you were able to keep up with the story.
  • To those who contributed to my long-ago fund raiser to cover website costs. We raised so much that we were able to buy memorial patio bricks at the hospice where Patty spent her final days.
  • Mary and Nabby: for sharing stories of your experiences at Van Cliburn concerts.
  • Those who have emailed me to share personal connections with AUS: for your trust. I’ve heard poignant stories about difficult life events made easier by the escape AUS offered. I’ve heard from people who have found a new (or renewed) love of music through the story. I’ve heard from people all over the globe who left their hearts in San Francisco at some point. And I’ve heard about readers’ personal experiences with congenital heart problems and date rape. Your generosity in sharing your stories has enriched my life.
  • Those who have sent me articles about concert pianists or other classical musicians: for your extra effort in sharing. I enjoyed reading them and got good ideas about William’s background and experiences.
  • Those who recommended books or movies (both those related to music and those that you just thought I’d like): for taking the time to offer great suggestions, and for the enjoyment I’ve experienced following up on the suggestions.
  • Those who gave AUS a shout-out on your blog: for the compliments, and for helping to build awareness of the story.
  • The "regulars”—the people who posted or emailed comments regularly, both in the “olden days” and more recently: for the support and encouragement. Your company during this process was a wonderful and unexpected gift. More than once I might have delayed a chapter, but instead I forged on because I knew it mattered to you.
  • Those who emailed me during the years when the story lay dormant: I’m sorry that I probably didn’t answer. I felt guilty and didn’t know what to say, but I still appreciated knowing that you hadn’t forgotten the story.
  • Every person who ever emailed me, posted to a comment thread, or sent me a private message: for taking the time. It is always a great compliment when someone chose to let me know they appreciated my work. Thank you.

If I’ve forgotten anyone I should have thanked, it’s due only to absent-mindedness!