J. Ayen Green is a software and website developer, writer, and poet. He is the chief software designer at Ayen Designs. He and his wife, Sofía-Aileen, make their home in New York City.
This was my second title for Packt, and was as enjoyable an experience as the first. That isn't coincidental, and I'd like to thank those responsible for the smooth ride: Usha Iyer, my acquisition editor, who has a keen eye for talent and a sharp sense of humor; Lata Basantani, projects team leader; Poorvi Nair, project coordinator, who is always warm and gracious, even when cracking the whip; Dhiraj Chandiramani, my development editor, Neha Damle, my technical editor, who is very adept at turning a mound of manuscript into what you're holding, and Patricia Weir, who always brings a smile to my face, and the rest of the Packt team, Rekha Nair, Gagandeep Singh, Lata Basantani, Lesley Harrison, Nilesh Mohite, Dolly Dasilva and Shradha Vichare, all of whom combined to create a beautiful publication.
Constructively critiquing another's work is always a challenge, and my technical reviewers, Dave M and Lena Doppel were definitely up to it. Whatever I may think of my writing ability, I'm certain that your experience was the better for their efforts.
This website used in this book was a live site, GuildBuildersInc.com, and its development occurred in parallel with the writing (not for the faint of heart). Many thanks to Scott Corley, its president, for sponsoring a fun project, being flexible regarding the design and timing (one usually doesn't measure website development in chapters), and for not changing the specs along the way—well, not too often.
My wife, Sofia-Aileen, once again, handled this project with the minimum of grumbling, despite our usually being two ships passing in the night. You're always there to give me a reason to get up in the morning—beyond brewing coffee for you.
Finally, I must not fail to mention those who provided the foundation for this book. My thanks to Dries Buytaert, for his gift (and that of some of the world's best coders) of bringing Drupal to the world. Equal thanks go to Earl Miles, aka merlinofchaos, for his spectacular creation known as Views. And to the countless denizens of #drupal, #drupal-support, and the Drupal lists, especially Kenn_ VM, who are always willing to give advice, empathy and/or a laugh.