DUNE 7 BLOG

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Dedication

When reading a book, a lot of you may skim past the Dedication and Acknowledgments. As authors, it's a special choice for us to make, choosing the person who, in one way or another, has made that particular novel, or our careers, or some part of our lives special.

The dedication for HUNTERS OF DUNE reads:

To TOM DOHERTY

Whose support and enthusiasm for the Dune universe -- and for us as authors -- has been unflagging. A dedicated publisher and perceptive businessman, Tom is a long-time DUNE fan and was a friend to Frank Herbert.

Tom Doherty is not only the publisher of our Dune novels, but also of my previous thrillers ILL WIND and IGNITION (coauthored with Doug Beason), and of Brian's biography DREAMER OF DUNE and his nonfiction book about the Merchant Marines, THE FORGOTTEN HEROES.

Tom knew Frank Herbert. Because Tor Books is such a well-respected science fiction house, he was one of the publishers who received our extensive proposal for the "Prelude to Dune" trilogy. Tom decided not to bid on the proposal because he simply didn't believe Brian and I could pull it off. However, he read HOUSE ATREIDES within weeks of when it was published and immediately called our agent. He had changed his mind and definitely wanted to be in the running if we wrote any further Dune novels.

Tom has been our publisher now for THE BUTLERIAN JIHAD, THE MACHINE CRUSADE, THE BATTLE OF CORRIN, THE ROAD TO DUNE, and now HUNTERS OF DUNE and SANDWORMS OF DUNE. He has enthusiastically supported all of our work, and he has been a friend to both of us as well. He certainly deserves the dedication.

-- KJA