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243 Author’s Note The characters, the town, the references to Methodism, and the events of Centerville are fictional, but the novel’s impetus is a childhood memory. In 1967, I witnessed the bombing of a drugstore in a small Midwest town. Like Sandi, I had made a sudden, inexplicable decision not to enter the store moments before the bomb exploded. I would like to thank Hilary Attfield for her insightful direction, Rachel King for her close and astute attention to the manuscript, and everyone else at West Virginia University Press for their hard work on the novel. Also, thank you to all those who read early drafts of the book, especially those who spent many hours on it, including Janet Osborn, Linda Osborn, Evie Reda, Erin Malone, Jane Gelfman , and Lorraine Glennon. Thanks to Linda Shockley for her humor , her knowledge, and her love of books. Finally, thank you to the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts for their residency and to the Cushman Writers Group. Community means everything. As always, I am grateful to Mike Jenkins for his encouragement, his sound technical advice, and his support. ...

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