Acknowledgments

 

I want to thank my readers. It just blows me away every time one of you mentions how much you love Bo or Chestla or Brill. (Yep, those are the main ones. Everyone seems to love Chestla best, TBH. You’d be surprised how many people have said they wished Mamá would just wise up and ditch Frank, and I told them to just be patient and watch where that arc’s going. What do you guys think now?) Seriously, thank you for caring about these characters and their problems in my zany ’verse. We all have limited budgets of time and money, and the fact that you liked the first one to come back for book two – just, wow.

I also want to thank the Robots, especially Marc Gascoigne, fearless leader of the whole Robot crew. Your support of the Chocoverse has meant a great deal, and I wish you all the best. Trut openheart bubblecloud want, as Tyson would put it. I’m not crying, you guys, you’re crying.

The other robots that will always be special to my heart, no matter what:

– My editor Lottie Llewelyn-Wells, who helped me take a too-long manuscript and whittle it into something more emotionally resonant than I ever imagined it could be. I learned a lot about pacing this time around, and how to help readers retain information. Thanks soooooo much Lottie!

– My publicity manager Penny Reeve (and her cat Fizz!) who kept me on track and got the word out about the Chocoverse so the people reading this could find Pure Chocolate in the first place. Also, she’s fun to Skype with. You are the best, Penny!

– The guy who handles everything else, Nick Tyler, who kept everything running smoothly, made me files, and handled silly debut novelist questions. You rock, Nick!

– My first Robot editor Phil Jourdan, who pushed me to build up the Space Opera stakes in the Chocoverse. Dominos he helped me put in place in Free Chocolate have started falling in this one. Long time no chat, but you are still AWESOME, Phil! Thanks again for everything.

– Former Robot Mike Underwood, who was the first Robot I met, and the one who took a chance on the Chocoverse in the first place. Safe journey and true heart, Mike.

Of course, I also want to thank my agent Jennie Goloboy, who’s done a lot of hand-holding and patiently explaining over the past year – but has also called me on it anytime I’ve tried to do something the lazy way and kept me focused. Which is why having an agent who gets what you are trying to do and sees what level you could be reaching for is so important. Thank you Jennie! For everything!

Thanks also to Eduardo, for proofing my Spanish this time around. I owe you so much actual chocolate! (Any remaining errors are my own.)

And to Rachel and James of X27 Films & Media who did the Free Chocolate book trailer (along with everyone else who helped out in it, especially Monica, Jasmine and Ethan). Everyone, you have to see it! Either on YouTube, or the AR site. So gorgeous.

I want to give a shout-out to my Novel 1-6 class over at UT Arlington. They’ve shared the past year with me, week by week, and have been AMAZING cheerleaders. A bit after Free Chocolate came out, the first time I used an example from my own work to illustrate a point, I realized that half the class had read it. I had to just stop for a second because having them nod along, remembering the details of something I wrote, was so overwhelmingly cool.

And obviously Cassie, Monica (yes, same Monica) and Tessa, for keeping me sane and listening to my writer-problems while at the same time helping me have a life outside of writing. Sorry about that one time I sat through that entire game of Apples to Apples with my headphones on, editing. It sounded like everyone was having a blast. Love you girls!

I can hardly believe how many wonderful, supportive people I have in my life right now. Even if you weren’t specifically mentioned, thank you all!