As always, I have a whole crew full of people to thank. Please forgive me if I forget to list you, since my brain always goes on vacation at the end of every book.
First, many thanks to my family for your patience and support. I couldn’t do it without you! My husband, Ben, is my very first reader and the bringer of food when I’m way too close to a deadline, and my children are sweet and supportive. Thanks also to my mom for reading before release to make sure I didn’t miss anything and to my mother-in-law for her encouragement.
Big thanks to my critique partners and friends, C.S. Hale (who published her first book this year!) and Shiloh Carroll (who just got an agent!). You ladies are awesome. And I’ll even forgive C for sending my kid a recorder. Hehe.
Countless thanks to my editor, Jody Wallace, a clever and kind author and friend. This wouldn’t be going out the door right now without your help. I know you had a rough start to the year, and I hope it gets better!
Thank you to my former cover artist, Eve Milady, for your first five awesome covers. I’m wishing you luck pursuing your dream as a storyboard artist in L.A.! I know you are going to rock it. And many thanks to my new cover artist, Melissa Stevens at The Illustrated Author Design Services. I’m so glad you had an opening for my humble book. You did an amazing job capturing Vek.
Thank you to my friend and formatter, Gaynor Smith. You do such beautiful work making my paperbacks come to life. I can’t wait to give you a hug when I finally make it to London!
A big shout out to my MCRW friends, especially the Wednesday Night group that prods me into writing when I’d rather be gaming. Or reading. Or sleeping.
And last but never, ever least, thank you to all of my readers. I love interacting with you, whether it’s through email, my Facebook page, my Facebook group, or at conferences. It’s humbling to know that my words have touched your heart, and chatting with all of you in the group always makes me smile. Big thanks to Raylene for the recent interview. Also, thank you Mj Phillips for answering my Chattanooga questions. Oh, and to Beth Bickford—I haven’t quite gotten to Salem in the story yet, but I have a feeling it is coming.