I'm Dottie — you'll know me by the bun, the enormous round glasses, and the fact that I'm usually the one quietly assembling the 75-point hand. I've spent a lifetime collecting the little phrases, patterns, and gentle tricks that turn a bewildering wall of tiles into an old friend, and I share every one of them here. Teachers, brand-new students, returning players — everyone gets the same warm welcome, and everyone who learns with my materials becomes part of the Dottie's Mahj Community, where questions are never silly and first mahjongs are celebrated loudly. Pull up a chair, dear. The tiles are about to make sense. — Dottie J. Steinberg