ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This piece took several years to write and I wouldn’t have been able to complete it without the help of several very important people. Thanks to fantastic fellow author and only regular member of what became our two-person writing circle, Nick Ostdick, who let me talk through every single idea I came up with over the course of about two years. Thanks to Andrew Hawes, Dan Henderson, Eva Litera, Kristen Nowak, and the rest of the Misfit Toys, as well as my former neighbor Chris Bertello, for letting me do my dramatic readings of my story as it progressed and for wanting more each time I concluded. Special thanks to fellow writers Theresa Schwegel, Laura Caldwell, Marcus Sakey, and Gillian Flynn for taking the time out of your busy schedules to talk to me about the writing process and for being prime examples of people who never gave up on their dreams, something that kept my own creative flame burning. Extremely huge amounts of gratitude need to be bestowed upon another extraordinary author, Monica McInerney, for not only offering an endless supply of assistance when I came to the point where I was lost at sea and for taking a chance on this small town bookseller. Thank you for introducing me to a wonderful editor, Maura McInerney, who didn’t make me cry during my first foray into editing, and my fantastic agent, Grainne Fox , who has been nothing but the absolute best as she led me through the jungle of the publishing industry and has kept my best interest at the foreground. Finally, I want to especially thank my wonderful fiancée, Katie, for never letting me give up on my dreams and for being there beside me every step of the way, and my son, August, for showing me what life is really all about. Thank you everyone!