First, as always, Mom and Daddy—thank you for being patient and understanding about my forays into imaginative worlds rather than telling me to get my head out of the clouds. Thanks for believing in me, especially when I didn’t believe in myself.
Don—thanks for seeing to your own needs and letting me escape into story-world. I’d never finish a book without your willingness to handle the mundane.
Kristian, Kaitlyn, and Kamryn—I am so grateful God gifted me with each of you. You are my best blessings and my joy. (Thanks for giving me much story fodder. Heh, heh, heh.) I love you muchly.
Alana, Connor, Ethan, Logan, Rylin, Jacob, Cole, Adrianna, Kaisyn, and Kendall—I pray someday you will open the pages of one of Gramma’s books, read the story, and come away with the realization that your gramma loved Jesus with all her heart. And I pray each of you will grow deeply in love with Him, too.
The Posse—my friends, my prayer partners, my sisters in the Lord. Thank you for taking this journey with me and encouraging me every step of the way. Special thanks to Eileen Key for gifting me with Manners and Morals of Victorian America by Wayne Erbsen, which provided the rules Abigail so stringently followed.
Shannon and the incredible team at WaterBrook—thanks for partnering with me and making the stories shine.
The readers who read A Hopeful Heart and asked me to write another “mail-order brides” story—thank you for your enthusiasm and prompting. Abigail, Helena, Mack, and Bill also thank you for the chance to come to life.
Finally, and most importantly, God—You are ever faithful, ever available, ever my source of strength, wisdom, peace, and encouragement. I would not want to take one step in this life without You. May any praise or glory be reflected directly back to You.