All the Lonely People would still be a messy first draft without my agent, Hilary Harwell. Thank you, Hilary, for your guidance over many iterations of this book. I am eternally grateful for your wisdom, partnership, and unwavering support. You are my life raft in this business.
To Emma Nelson, my publisher, you have made my dreams a reality. Thank you for taking a chance on my work, and for championing it so generously, and for being the reason the world can read my words. I’m so glad to call you friend. Olivia Swenson, my editor and collaborator, you make my books better and encourage me at the same time. Thank you for re-teaching me the same concepts over and over again. You have the patience of a saint. Hannah Smith and Carrie Geslison, thank you for being such an enthusiastic, cheerful-hearted team. Owl Hollow is truly a parliament of dream makers and I am so lucky to work with all of you.
To Jennifer Schildmeier, my sister by marriage but friend by choice, thank you for being my number six. Goahead and count. You’ve been there for me through the highest highs and the lowest lows. You’re an annoyingly perfect name-doppelgänger who never stops challenging me to be better in every aspect of my life. I want to be like you when I grow up, as long as I can still drive like me.
To Dawn Mahaffey Gramling: you are the main reason I fell in love with the Beatles as a kid. Every time I hear I Saw Her Standing There, I’m transported to a dance party in your bedroom in that house on Rainbow Drive. Thank you for your steadfast friendship (and side-splitting voice recordings) even all these decades later.
Sonia Hartl, my OG CP, thank you for reading this book like seventeen times and finding reassuring things to say every single time (though the hairless cat comment is still my favorite). You truly saved me from that Full House moment. Sometimes I think I only write books for your inevitable comment bubble jokes. I couldn’t do this without you.
Kes Trester, thank you for taking time out of your vacation and walking the streets of Southwark to give me live-action updates as I drafted. Your serendipitous presence in London was the perfect failsafe for my imagination. I am so grateful to still be your padawan, long after your commitment expired. I can’t wait to watch a West Coast beach sunset with you one day very soon.
To my writing den—thank you for adding so much to my everyday life. Summer Spence, I can’t wait until the world gets to read your beautiful words. Thank you for always offering an inspiring word or an inappropriate joke, whatever the situation requires, no matter how busy you are. Elly Blake, your encouragement, example, and gentle-but-tough love make me a better writer (and a better human). Thank you for always making me feel seen and validated. Kristin Wright, you are always the first to volunteer to read for me, and then you give me the most insightful, game-changing notes, even on the draftiest of drafts. Thank you for being my steady voice of reason, in writing and in life. Mary Ann Marlowe, you are my go-to on all things music and tech and will be forever, whether you like it or not. Thank you for so unselfishly sharing your infinite savvy. Kelly Siskind, thank you for always being willing to brainstorm or offer resources. You make my kissy scenes kissier. Ron Walters, your work ethic and determination are a perpetual source of motivation (okay, and maybe shame, stop making me look so bad!)—yet you still find time to be supportive to a group of strong-willed women. Thank you for making us laugh and keeping us sane. Every single one of you is simultaneously so talented and humble. You each bring something uniquely valuable to our little group. I love you all madly. Never leave me—you know too much!
April Simmons, my soul sister and unpaid therapist: how dare you move to Hawaii and limit the number of waking hours I can call or text you. I forgive you, though, because you are the best friend a girl could ever have. Thank you for holding my hand as I turn my messy ideas into readable things. I’m glad we are close, no matter how many miles separate us.
I am so grateful to Kristin Reynolds, Shawna Parker, and Sarah Reid for early reads and insight on all things UK, The Beatles, and witchy woo. Someday soon, when this stupid pandemic is over, I am going to press you each to my heaving bosom and cry happy tears that you’re in my life.
Janet Wrenn and Kristy Wyatt, thank you for always being there with a shoulder or discerning eye to help me overcome whatever obstacle lies in my path. I adore you both.
I offer my most heartfelt thanks to the writers who have helped me countless times along the way and made me feel welcome in this community: Carrie Brown-Wolf, Claire Campbell, Roselle Lim, Heather Truett, Kellye Garrett, Rachel Lynn Solomon, Rebecca Maziel Sullivan, Tracie Martin, Carlee Caranovic, Margarita Montimore, Jennie Nash, Brenda Drake, The 2014 Pitch Wars Mentee Group, Bethany Hegedus, the staff at The Writing Barn, and so many more.
All the incredible women in my life—sisters and moms and nieces and friends—who continue to love me unconditionally: Becky Blanton, Julie Machin, Jamie Gordon, Gwen Hayden, Rebecca Yates, Gracie Schildmeier, Caitlin Gordon Clark, Jane Blanton, Faye Chapman, Joan Hawkins, Julie Walsh, Crystal Morris, Hailey Moore, Kim Collins, Rima Cerone, Angie Holliday, Tamara McGuire-Hall, Robyn Sanders Bivens, LeAnn Carver, Julie Carter, Joanna Diamond, Melissa Vickery Embler, Joy Stringfield, Melissa Speary, Teka Siebenaler, Amanda Wick, and Gwen Whitaker…thank you for reading my books. I would love you even if you didn’t, but your support means everything.
My father-in-law, Michael Hawkins, who we lost in 2016, was the biggest Beatles fan I’ve ever known. If he were here now, I’d insist we watch A Concert for George, even though I’ve already seen it at least a thousand times at approximately one hundred decibels because of him. I miss you, Pops.
To my husband, Jeremy: I stopped being lonely the day I met you. For more than eighteen years, you have been my true north. I don’t have the cerebral grasp of physics principles that you do, but I think I understand quantum entanglement because it exists in us. You are an inextricable part of me. No matter what storms life has thrown our way, we’ve weathered it together. I am so grateful our boys have a dad like you. Thank you for making me laugh through my tears, for tolerating my bright screen when you’re trying to sleep, and for making me lattes with little hearts in them when I’m tired but have to press on. You’ve been a relentless supporter of my dreams and a partner in every sense of the word. My love for you exceeds the space-time continuum.
And lastly, to my boys…
Jonathan: thank you for all the late-night philosophical discussions. Your brain amazes me. Those conversations have given me so many epiphanies on character motivation throughout the development of this story and others, too. Your insight on human nature, and your optimism despite that understanding, make me so proud to be your mom. The only thing I love more than talking to you about music is listening to you play it and sing. I admire the brilliant, hilarious, talented man you are becoming. Jackson: thank you for being my dancing buddy and my constant source of comedy. You have the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever known. Your sweet little laugh and your squishy mean-it hugs are a bright spot in every day of my life. I’m so proud of your endless sense of compassion. And I love your unique artistic perspective on everything. I’ll never understand why Taxman is your favorite Beatles song, but you do you, ya little weirdo. Watching you both grow up is one of my life’s greatest privileges.
This book is for you two. Not because it has anything to do with us (other than our love for the Beatles), but because no matter what I write, you are the muses that get me through every struggle. You remind me what’s good about the world, and why life, with its pools of sorrow and waves of joy, is always worth it.