Free Unknown by Dayanara Sanar Ryelle Page A

western shore of Israel, established in 20 C.E. in honor of Emperor Tiberius.
     
     
    Vestalis Maxima: (Latin) title of the chief Vestal; also Virgo Vestalis Maxima .

Acknowledgements
     
     
    One of the hardest things about publishing independently is writing the acknowledgements. Not many people are involved, so the section is usually short; however, I inevitably feel like I forget someone I ought to be thanking. (You would think that by my fourth book, I would have this part down, but not so.)
    Before I get started with Early One Morning , I’d like to solve a little mystery I created with Barefoot on the Couch . You’ll notice that there is a paragraph in the acknowledgements there that is completely in Spanish—it’s dedicated to the truly adorable Tim Hutton (“Timoteo”) and shares best wishes for his sons Noah (“Noé”) and Milo, as well as his lovely wife Aurore. I thought about putting the paragraph in French, thereby forcing Aurore to read it to him (*mischievous giggle*), but I was worried it would be a ferocious mess. Spanish, at least, holds few grammatical secrets for me, so it was less of an effort.
     
     
    )O(
     
     
    I’d like to start out by thanking Mark Burnett and Roma Downey for their tireless effort. If you haven’t seen their miniseries The Bible by the time you read this book, put it in your Netflix queue, rent it from your local library…whatever! Just don’t miss it… The Bible is not only a fantastic piece; it was partly the inspiration for this book.
    I always thank Tana Siemaszko for being the best mother a girl could have…now I’d like to thank her for being the best editor, too. After so many nights discussing plot holes in the television shows we watch, I thought she’d be the perfect person to look over my manuscript.
     
     
    You’ll notice that Early One Morning is dedicated to two people, the second being Bill Johnston. He was my language arts teacher in sixth grade and was a great inspiration, whether it was reading Poe aloud in a darkened classroom or teaching us the nuances of biology and physics. Sadly, Bill passed in 2011 after a lengthy battle with cancer. I promised his widow, Sarah, that I’d dedicate my next book to him; but I forgot when it came time to decide who to accompany the likes of Kira Leyden-Andrea and Christian Kane. (I’m sitting here thinking that I should’ve created a character named Sarah, but that name is most commonly associated with Saint Sarah and not Rome, so that wouldn’t have worked. [Maybe next time!])
    And Greg. I could try to fill pages with what I think of my beloved Royal Shakespearean, but it would inevitably turn to mush…and kissing…and if you’re reading this, you’re probably no longer wondering why the prefect seduced the priestess! Greg was my muse for Early One Morning and I kept several pictures of him in costume so that I could accurately describe what I saw while writing. I started an entirely different novel with him as the focus before this, but the images from the miniseries stayed in my mind over the course of several months; thus, Early One Morning was born. Now that Pontius Pilatus is done terrorizing Julia Severide (and the rest of Judea), I can go back to my age of castles and kings, where “Greg the Warrior” is an absolute sweetheart.
     
     
     
    D.S. Ryelle
    October 2013
     
     
    A los dos hombres más amados de mi corazón…te amo siempre.

Notes
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In singular, the priestesses have the surname “Templa”; however, when they are referred to together—or at least in the same sentence—they go by the surname “Templis”.