This foreword has been written afterward.  I am reasonably sure all authors write their forewords afterward.  How else would they know what’s been left out of the book and needs to be stated in the foreword to cover their ass afterward?

I apologize in advance to the principals of this book, as well as the principles in this book.  On this page I am acting at the behest of my coffee-stained lawyer with the tattoos.  He has informed me that this is the very best way to stay out of court in all matters concerning Farce Au Pain, both now and in the future.  I hope Zachary and Adrian truly understand.  My lawyer has also suggested [read: insisted] on the wording. We argued over it. A lot. That’s why the following two paragraphs are the most edited in the entire book.

“What follows is a work of fiction.  I have, as the author, tried to create a real world, much like the one in which we live, for my characters to inhabit.  All the major characters are made up; just a figment of my imagination.  To infuse this manuscript with a reality all its own, and because it takes place in the clearly defined era of the recent past, the reader may recognize certain historical figures and events.  I hope I have in no way misrepresented those people and/or events.

“Any resemblance to persons either living or presumed dead is purely coincidental” and wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t so stupid in the first place.  Don’t sue me for your ignorance.

Notwithstanding (a lovely term tossed around by lawyers like so much confetti) the above statements: This book is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.