An incomplete list of people I admire.

Shirley Jackson, James M. Cain, Betty Bacall, James K. Polk, Archie Goodwin, Tom Waits, Dashiel Hammett, Katherine Smith, Kendall Hailey, Orson Welles, Robert Rodriguez, Willa Cather, Nova Suma, Nigella Lawson, Anthony Bourdain, James W. Loewen, Bruce Campbell, Jay Munly, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Luke Short, Bat Masterson, Myrna Loy, Andrew Bird, Parker Grey, MFK Fisher, Neil Gaiman, and my husband.