The best part about finishing a book is getting to write the acknowledgments. I’m so grateful to all of the people who’ve helped along the way.
I have to begin with a gigantic thank-you to my fantastic and shrewd editor, Laurie Chittenden, for taking my extremely vague idea (“this duchess is crazy!”) and helping me shape it into a bona fide story.
Always a tremendous thank-you to my agent, Barbara Poelle, for being smart, tenacious, hilarious, and a good friend. Thank you for always fighting for me, sticking with me, and telling me when I’m doing it wrong. And, speaking of agents, a shout out to Heather Baror-Shapiro for her hard work on foreign rights.
Thanks to the hardworking, savvy team at St. Martin’s Press, including Melanie Fried, Laura Clark, Whitney Jacoby, and the amazing Katie Bassel, the best publicist in the business. The entire St. Martin’s team has been so incredibly kind and gracious and cool, not to mention they grace me with the world’s most fantastic covers. The pressure’s really on now!
Thank you to Leslie Rossman, Emily Miles Terry, Sara Beigle, and the rest of the team at Open Book Publicity for doing so much to market my work.
A special thanks goes to my cousin Drew Thompson and his wife Amy for providing a little “artwork” for this book. Thank you also to Scott and Lisa Hourin for their insight into what the Marines were doing post-9/11. Scott, I hope I’ve used your intel believably and I apologize for any civilian mistakes!
To my funny, kind, and scary talented fellow San Diego writers: Sue Meissner, Tammy Greenwood, Margaret Dilloway, Jennifer Coburn, Jan Moran, Juliette Sobanet, and especially the wonderful Liz Fenton, for being such great friends and always having my back. You guys are all so inspiring, not to mention fun to hang out with. And thank you also to my wonderful local bookstore, Warwick’s in La Jolla, Julie Slavinsky in particular, for the tremendous encouragement and support.
A thousand thanks to two great organizations, the Women’s Fiction Writer’s Association (WFWA) and Barbara Bos’s Women Writers, Women’s Books for not only supporting me but other writers worldwide.
And to two old (but not old) friends, fellow Tri Delts Elaine Turville Kropp and Anna Dinwiddie Hatfield for your support and getting people to attend my signings. Always huge thanks to Karen Freeman Landers, the best friend and greatest co-Chargers-season-ticket-holder a gal could ask for. Thank you also to Wendy Merry who not only sends people to my appearances but also Hollywood producers to my door.
Thank you to the people at Ellie Mae, especially Ed Luce and his wife Ann, for supporting this second career.
None of this would be any fun without my family alongside, including my hilarious, witty, and brilliant sister, Lisa Gable Wheatley, and my smart, fun, Chargers-loving brother, Brian Gable. Thank you to my dad, Tom Gable, for always inspiring me and cheering me on, and of course my mother, Laura Gable, to whom this book is dedicated. How do you thank one person for … everything? Thanks also go to Bill and Suzy Gable for hawking my books to patients and friends alike.
To my husband, Dennis Bilski, who keeps everything running. I always joke that if you made the slightest change to your schedule or availability, the entire system would shut down. Thanks for all you do for me, for our girls, and for making me the luckiest girl in the world.
To my spunky, smart, sporty daughters, Paige and Georgia. Thanks for being the easiest kids to raise. Sweet, independent, and responsible. That’s why I get so much done.
I learned many things when my first book came out, my favorite was seeing firsthand just how awesome other people are. Thank you not only to my friends but also readers nationwide who showed up at my signings. I’ll never be able to express what it means to meet you all in person. I’m also extraordinarily grateful for every reader’s note sent my way. I’ve saved each one. I hope you all love the second book as much as the first.
And, finally, I want to close these thanks in memory of my beloved grandmother, Carol Gable, a woman so interesting that even in her final days she still had new stories to tell.
Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California