Because I am not rich and famous yet, I only get a page to thank people. When I am rich and famous, I will demand fourteen pages to thank people and then no one will get offended.
Firstly, thank You to my God (who is so much fun to write with). Thank You for these gifts. Thank You for these blessings. Thank You for the growth. All good things come from You.
To my gorgeous hunk of a man, Danny: You are the apple to my pie; you are the blanket to my bed; you are the chai to my latte. Thanks for working so hard so I can keep writing. You’re a rockstar. I love love love love love you! Thank you for Paris and New York.
To my lovely editor, Kathleen: You rock. For putting up with my endless emails and whining. For choosing eels instead of deer. Brilliant. I wish you well, girlfriend, and I wish you glittery disco balls and peppermint mochas, and I am still planning on New York at Christmas. Thanks for being a bestie. And Jacque: thank you, thank you, thank you for putting up with the insanity.
To my other besties: Burb, Gigi, Ally, NeeCee, Lulu, Zuzu, Lynne, Colleen and Suzanne. Ladies … oh, the prayers you have prayed over me … Thank you. I fully expect each of you to buy one hundred copies of my book so I can become rich and famous and can have fourteen pages of acknowledgments. And to the elevator man at Tiffany’s: It was amazing meeting you and thank you for Sir Shaw’s inspiring jobs.
To Zondervan, HarperCollins, Mike and Mark, Melissa, and Cindy: oh, the questions you answered for me! I’m so green, it’s pathetic. Thank you!
To all the kids I got to meet and do presentations for: I loved seeing your happy faces and hearing your silly laughs.
To all those sweet emails I got from around the world encouraging me: Thank you. You make this writing worth the sleepless nights and headbanging and multiple latte drinking.
To anyone else I forgot: Thank you.
And finally, to my boy, my gaffer, my heart-walking-around-my-body … Jackson? You are fantastic. I love your character and I love your heart. You are so funny, it makes me proud. Always be brave and always stick up for the little guy. Be who God wants you to be. Find your story. And thanks for telling me I’m beautiful, because I’m a girl and all girls are beautiful.
If anyone wants a letter from Jenn Kelly (as she has bought lovely stationery), she can be reached at jennkelly@jennkelly.com. She also has a website: www.jennkelly.com.