Every author acknowledgement section, those last pages we often skip by since the novel is complete. contains a salute to the folks behind the writer, those that have stood by, commented, and given the book its birth to a reading public. For the most part, their roles are not identified. Not so in Scratched. Its initial readers were invaluable, giving insights as to the book's texture, characters, and plots. Like the first editors of a film, readers are the shock troops of the author, bearing up under misspellings, scene goofs, bad grammar, and plot mistakes. Mine were fearless and patient.