A Dirge for Preston John, Page 51

  As always, my husband Dmitri has acted as both muse and sounding board, caretaker and research assistant, and I could not possibly repay the debt I owe—except by writing more books. To marry a book-addict is the best destiny for a writer. It pays for much of the grief of this life.

  To my agent Howard Morhaim and my editor Juliet Ulman, as well as Ross Lockhart, Jason Williams, and Jeremy Lassen of Night Shade Books.

  To Nancy 3 Hoffman, who provided a little museum by the sea which, lying empty in the winter, served high duty as the place where I wrote this novel.

  To all my brothers and sisters who stand by me and pick me up when I fall, online and off, my family and my dears.

  The Folded World

  © 2011 by Catherynne M. Valente

  This edition of The Folded World

  © 2011 by Night Shade Books

  Edited by Juliet Ulman

  Cover art by Rebecca Guay

  Cover design by Cody Tilson

  Map by Tim Piotrowski

  Interior layout and design by Amy Popovich

  All rights reserved

  First Edition

  ISBN: 978-1-59780-203-1

  e-ISBN: 978-1-59780-358-8

  Night Shade Books

  http://www.nightshadebooks.com

  OTHER BOOKS BY

  CATHERYNNE M. VALENTE

  The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland

  in a Ship of Her Own Making

  Palimpsest

  The Orphan’s Tales: In the Night Garden

  The Orphan’s Tales: In the Cities of Coin and Spice

  Under in the Mere

  The Grass-Cutting Sword

  Yume No Hon: The Book of Dreams

  The Labyrinth

  The Habitation of the Blessed: A Dirge for Prester John Vol. One

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Catherynne M. Valente is the author of over a dozen books of fiction and poetry, including Palimpsest, the Orphan’s Tales series, and The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. She is the winner of the Tiptree Award, the Andre Norton Award, the Lambda Award, the Mythopoeic Award, the Rhysling Award, and the Million Writers Award. She was a finalist for the World Fantasy Award in 2007 and 2009, and the Locus and Hugo awards in 2010.She lives on an island off the coast of Maine with her partner, two dogs, an enormous cat, and an accordion.