From the beginning, I've been surrounded by so much love and a tremendous amount of support. For that, I would first and far most like to thank my mom and dad, and my sister, Paris, whose unconditional belief in me has always been my greatest motivation.
I will also always be indebted to Martine, aka Martini, for being my very first reader. I don't think I would have gotten through the first draft without her. And I probably wouldn't have gotten through the second, third, fourth or millionth draft without my many friends and family who saw past the typos, grammatical and spelling errors, and the array of plot and developmental issues to read it and give me feedback. Special thanks to Lani, Aunt Marci, Bee, Janine, Gretch and Nonie, Taurian, Noel, and everyone else who took the time out to help me make this book the best it could be.
For constant encouragement, motivation, and support, I send my love to my family, especially my extended brothers and sister, Jen, Brandon, Terrance, and Chase, as well as my Aunt Lenora, aka WaWa, and Uncle B. And I definitely can't forget Lissy, my English model in Australia; Randy, one of my best friends and main sources of encouragement; and Shayla, who after meeting me just once, never stopped rooting for me. I'm also very grateful for Deborah, who truly made this novel sparkle; Ellie, who always met my anal retentiveness with nothing but patience; and, of course, my team at Diversion—Hannah, Sarah, Mary, Randall, Seth, Laura, and even Angela—whose advice and support helped me more than they will ever know.
Finally, I'd like to thank those who I will never be able to thank enough: My cousin, best friend, and backbone, Nicole Pierre; my best friend and [self-proclaimed] biggest fan, Lauren McGregor; my best friend and writing partner-in-crime, Maria Burgos; Rachel Myton, my best friend who, after four years, maintains that this is her favorite book; Christopher Hampton, eternally in my corner and always pushing me forward; Kevin Edwards, my alibi (and lawyer in case the alibi doesn't hold up); and my Aussie-Mom, Sylvia Lushaj, who continues to motivate me to be the best that I can. You all are absolutely irreplaceable and I don't know what I would have done had you not been on this journey with me. Thank you, and thank you again.