Acknowledgements and Credits

"My Statue" was definitely my most researched fan fiction story I have published to date. Many of my reviewers have expressed interest in the circus and the circus facts I have included in this story, so I feel compelled to acknowledge my sources.

Books:

"The Circus at the Edge of the Earth: Travels with the Great Wallenda Circus"

By Charles Wilkins ISBN: 0-7710-8847-7

Buy it! Read it! It's fabulous!

"The Age of Fable"

By Giovanni Caselli ISBN: 0-02-861475-5

This was my reference for Pygmalion.

Webpages:

http://www.ringling.com

Specific pages used included: David Solove's, (the Boss Clown of the 130th Edition of The Greatest Show On Earth) Letters from the Road Diary. This daily diary covered two years of the circus specific to the 130th season. It is a must read, I was captivated by it. Unfortunately I believe it is no longer available. I have a copy of most of it, so if you want to read it-email me.

Other pages of note: Bello Nock is the star clown of the 131st season. He does in fact climb a sway pole and use a high wire motorcycle in that show (I did attend it when it came to town). He has fantastic clown hair-go check it out! Unfortunately, you cannot buy a Bello pen. I made that up.

Musicals:

"My Fair Lady" is the main musical this story is based on and the one I was thinking of as I wrote it. This musical was based on the play "Pygmalion".

From "Oklahoma" comes the scene of dealing with gossip. I believe I had the song "People will say we're in love" in my head the whole time I wrote about gossip.

"Love's Labors Lost" is a Shakespearean play which Kenneth Brannah made into a musical movie by inserting forties music. One of the songs inserted was "I won't dance", a song about the idea of not being able to hold someone without making a romantic move on them.

"Camelot" has a song entitled "Before I gaze at you again" a song about wishing time and separation could help Gwenaivere to exist around Lancelot without wanting him. It fails miserably.

"The Scarlet Pimpernel" is a very new musical with wonderful songs. It is about two people hiding their true identities from each other. The only problem is they are in love with the true identities of each other. They spend a great deal of time looking at each other and asking where is the person I once loved?

Finally "Annie get your Gun" is a musical about performance: a traveling variety show featuring the sharpshooter Annie Oakley. This musical deals with the difference between an on-stage persona and the real person underneath.

Beta Reader:

The true Alisa Grimm personified, was my good friend Midii Une, the owner of the Spy and the Silencer Website.

Personal experiences:

I am a performer in a sort-of circus: Ye Merrie Greenwood Renaissance Faire, where we do in fact have a traditional producer speech and chant before each performance. Since we are outside all the time, our chants deal with things we don't want to happen: "No Wind, No Rain, No temperatures over 80, no small stinging insects, no injured actors!" our chant ends with the monk's chant from Monty Python and The Holy Grail "Pie Iesu Domine. Dona eis Requiem". I decided to have the circus chant focus on things they wanted to have happen because I never liked the negativity of our chant. Also "May all your days be Circus Days" is the motto of The Barnum and Bailey Ringling Bro. Circus.

Thank you for reading the credits, you wonderful person you!