The Fortune Teller(92)

I have seen nature in its vast expanse. I have seen civilizations crumble, heard the reverberations of history as time folded and unfolded again. I have seen shooting stars rain down from heaven, watched war and destruction blacken the earth, and I have seen love revive us. I have peered through time and past its many veils to find you.

One of my cards, The World, was left behind for a reason. It is the symbol of the soul becoming conscious of the divine. Now let the world embrace you.





Author’s Thanks

This story could not have been told without a childhood adventure that I must thank my parents for letting me take—a seventh grade summer school trip to France with my French teacher (and her tarot cards). Thank you, Mom and Dad, for letting me go, and to Mme Hobson, wherever you may be! Also loving thanks to Emma Ferguson for years later trying to show a very inquisitive teenage me how to read tarot.

If cards were to represent people, then my agent, Brianne Johnson, at Writers House would be The High Priestess. Bri, thank you for your passion for this story from the get-go, for your insights and for steering the ship yet again. My editor at Picador, Elizabeth Bruce, would have to be The Magician. Elizabeth, thank you for taking on this story and being such a vital partner in the creative journey—how I have loved working at your table again.

My deepest gratitude to Stephen Morrison and the talented people behind the curtain at Picador: managing editor Kolt Beringer; production team Lauren Hougen and Vincent Stanley; copyeditors Kate Davis and NaNá Stoelzle; VP of Marketing and Sales Darin Keesler; and Shannon Donnelly and Molly Fessenden in marketing; executive director of Publicity James Meader and my publicist, Isabella Alimonti; Devon Mazzone and Amber Hoover for handling subsidiary rights, assisted by Naoise McGee; interior designer Jonathan Bennett; and LeeAnn Falciani for designing the book’s cover.

A very special thanks to Laura Chasen for her line edit; tarot consultant Bakara Wintner for providing invaluable insight for the story and the cards; my sister, Alexandria, and my brother Bart and his wife, Kelsi, for the brainstorming session before I began writing; and many thanks to Simon Goltsman, Julia Burke, Farah Bullara, Monika Telszewska, Sue Ebrahim, Charlotte Schillaci, Robin Wilson, Bruce Brenner, Paul O’Brien, and Nadine Nettman for the research assistance and encouragement along the way.

I read numerous nonfiction works in my research and I’d like to give a special mention to Dean Radin’s book Entangled Minds and Michael Dummett and Ronald Decker’s two books, A Wicked Pack of Cards: Origins of the Occult Tarot (with Thierry Depaulis) and A History of the Occult Tarot. They were an invaluable resource, as well as tarot scholar Mary K. Greer’s website. For a full list of the selected bibliography, please visit my Web site. (Any factual errors found within these pages are my own.)

I also could not have written The Fortune Teller without first discovering a gem of a group, The Manuscript Society. I joined the society during my quest for research and they provided a wealth of information. Special thanks also goes to forensic specialist Gabrielle Weimer for her guidance; Mark Beaulieu for his ancient maps and logistical assistance; and Christine E. McCarthy and Raymond Clemens at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library for graciously answering my questions.

Since publication of my first book, The Memory Painter, I’ve been filled with such gratitude to all the booksellers, librarians, reviewers, bloggers, and fellow authors who have supported me, and I am forever grateful to authors M. J. Rose, Katherine Neville, Charlie Lovett, and Anne Fortier. Many thanks to my foreign publishers; the American Booksellers Association; the FF&P and LARA chapters of RWA, the ITW Debut Program, MWA, SWFA, and the Historical Novel Society; Terry Gilman at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore; as well as Julie Lawson Timmer, Alex Dolan, and Stacy Wise for their support. My continuing thanks to Lucy Stille, Judith Karfiol, web designers Jess Foster and Mike Ross, and JennKL Photography.

To all my friends and family, my husband and son, Kurando and Kenzo, your love and encouragement keep my world spinning. To my readers, you have my infinite thanks. I wish you all a wonderful journey on the Wheel of Life.