Acknowledgments

 

 

 

Although a book is written in isolation, it is never written alone. My grateful appreciation spreads wide across the people in my life.

To my dearest friends who always believed and said, “Of course” (you know who you are); thank you for allowing me the space and time to fulfill my dream. Special thanks go to Sandee O, whose creative spirit is my inspiration, and to Susan Clark, whose generosity and inexhaustible service to others are amazing. I love you all.

Innumerable thanks go to some very special women in GRW—to Ann Howard White and Deborah Smith, who believed in me before I did; and gratitude to Dorene Graham, Pat Potter, Stephanie Bond and Haywood Smith.

Deep appreciation goes to my agent Kimberly Whalen. I am consistently thankful for her providential entrance into my life. I offer my gratitude for her enthusiasm and sharp sense of story. Her trust in me has allowed me to write this book from the deepest place of my heart.

I thank New American Library for their trust in me. Special thanks go to Serena Jones and to my extraordinary editor, Ellen Edwards, whose keen eye, patience and dedication to the written word have produced a novel that is deeper and more polished.

No acknowledgment would be complete without mentioning the support, love and undergirding of my family. To my sisters, Barbi and Jeannie, who believed and cried and encouraged. To Gwen and Anna, who believed. I love you.

My heart overflows with immeasurable love for my children—Meagan, Thomas and Rusk. They inspire me to want to be so much more than I am. Their towheaded beauty and fathomless love echo the God who designed them. To my husband, Pat, whose patience with his wife’s dream allowed it to come true. All of you are my heart’s beat.

And to my God in whom I live and move and have my being. If I write anything of worth, it is because His power flows through me. I thank Him for the gifts of story, of writing and of faith.