Dear Reader...

To write a novel is to embark upon a journey of discovery, much as the early explorers did--the ones who ignored the colorful drawings of seas that ended in cascading waterfalls or the scrolling admonitions that "Here Be Dragons." When one begins, there is a destination in mind. There are people one wishes to meet, events one wishes to experience. Sometimes there is a map--often there is not. And as we all know, all too frequently things do not go according to plan, new faces appear, landscapes shift and change.

The world I have created is vast, and it is peopled with far more interesting personages than I could ever include in one novel--let alone three. It seems awfully unfair that their stories should remain locked in darkness while those of others shine. Therefore I present them here in the hopes that they might live and breathe and thrive.

I am sorely tempted to tell you all about the Door and Window Network, how it operates, how it came into being. But that would be unfair to those whose stories take place within its web-like structure. No, instead I will simply leave the telling to the characters, who will probably do it much better than I could anyway.