The First of Shadows

by Deck Matthews

  The adventure continues at

  varkaschronicles.com

  Acknowledgments

  As always, my first thanks need to go to God. It might sound trite or cliché, but it's the plain and simple truth. I thank the Lord for fashioning me in His image and giving me the capacity to write and create this world of Varkas.

  My endless thanks always go to my wife, Kelly. Her love, encouragement and patience seem boundless. She's dealt with all the hours, days, months and years I've put into this writing journey, and if she ever had a moment of doubt along the way, she never once voiced the thought. She's always been my biggest fan and supporter—even if she's not a fan of the fantasy genre itself. I love you more than all the stars, Kel!

  Thanks also go to the rest of my family. To my beautiful daughters, who are the light of my life, and to my parents, David and Christine, and my brother, Andrew, for their unwavering love and support (he might even read this one day... maybe?). Also, special thanks to my sister-in-law, Jamie Schroeder, for the awesome bio photo.

  Of course, a project like this doesn't get off the ground without feedback from a ton of other people too. So, to everybody who has read this thing in its various states, you have my thanks. This includes Amy Allen, Jonathan Bennett, Jeremy Carlson, David Gregory Clark, Emily Corrigan, Chuck Koontz, David Macauley, Stephanie Macauley, Emmet Moss, Jules Ribbi, Brent Schmidt and Shannon Shaw! Your feedback has been invaluable and helped shape The First of Shadows into something I can be proud of, while your encouragement helped me push forward when doubt came creeping around.

  I also need to thank my fantastic editor Vicky Bell, for her incredible work at cleaning up my words (and dealing with my anxiety). The story is undoubtedly better because of you. And to Alex Harland, whose eagle-eye helped bring that last bit of polish to the text. Thanks for being amazing at what you do.

  Special thanks go to the gang at TL;DR Press—who are some of the most encouraging people I've ever had the pleasure of interacting with on the Internet—and to my colleagues at Soshal for their continued support.

  And last, but not least, to you dear reader, for taking the time to cast your gaze across these words that I've written. I hope you've found something within them to delight or entertain.

  About the Author

  Deck Matthews is a pseudonym for one particular Matthew Ward, who lives in Ottawa, Canada with his wife, two daughters and one little fluff ball of a dog named Wicket. He is the creator of the Varkas Chronicles. You can follow along with the adventure on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

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  Photography by Hello Lovely Studios