Thank you again to my wonderful editor, Lucia Macro. This novel would not be what it is without your suggestion that Violet pursue an acting career in Hollywood. I must admit, initially I wasn’t drawn to the glamour of Hollywood in its Golden Age, but delving into research (and exposing Hollywood’s dark underbelly in contrast to all the glitter) turned out to be so much fun. Thank you for believing this story is “magical.” You are a joy to work with.
To my agent Jenny Bent—there is no better literary agent in all of New York (or the world for that matter). Thank you for your emails, your phone calls and your texts from Frankfurt at 2 A.M. You are my tireless advocate and you make me laugh. It is a pleasure to work with you. Thank you also to Denise Roy for your keen eye and talent for discovering the heart of the story. I appreciate your insight in shaping this novel into a book that I’m proud of.
To my fantastic team at William Morrow—thank you. A big round of applause for my copy editors (who helped me hide all evidence of repetitive blushing and hand trembling) and to my designer, Elsie Lyons, who created two beautiful covers. To Amelia Wood in marketing and to my publicist, Michelle Podberezniak, I appreciate how hard you work to connect me with readers and book sellers!
To my critique partner Sally Hepworth, thank you for reading this novel in its many iterations over the years and for being the brilliant writer that you are. Your feedback is a gift. Another Hollywood trip is definitely in order!
To Anna Evans, thank you for reading early drafts of this novel and for your constant support. You are such a talented writer and your time is coming, I know it. To Niki Robbins, my favorite beta reader: thank you for loving the “old” Boardwalk Summer. I promise you will love this version too. To Nayelli Dalida, thank you for volunteering to check my Spanish and for reading a final draft of this novel.
To Sarah Dodd, Katie Flynn, and Jennifer Dean, thank you for volunteering your professional knowledge in the fields of psychology and law. Alas, like Hollywood, publishing can be tough. The character my questions pertained to was cut from the novel. But your advice was excellent nonetheless.
To my mom, thank you for providing me with inspiration, the vintage Hollywood calendar and books to help me with my research. You have always fostered my creativity. To my sister Carolyn, thank you for reading an early draft of this novel, but more importantly, thank you for always listening to me. Don’t start charging by the hour for phone calls!
To my mother-in-law, thank you for inviting me to speak to your book groups. What fun they were to talk to!
To my husband, Will. Thank you for comforting me during times of stress and for watching Hazel when I disappear for hours to write. You and Hazel are the loves of my life (and Bernie too of course—dog hair, drool and all).
Finally, to my readers: thank you for your emails, your Facebook messages and your blog posts to let me know that my writing has touched you in some way. I have my dream job because of you and I can’t thank you enough.
To the dreamers: never stop dreaming, never give up.