Author’s Note: A Little Wilder is a book about choices. I know that Mari gave careful thought to her options, that in her fictional world—the world I want to live in—they all felt possible and accessible. She could have, and would have, made different decisions if she had needed to, and still found her happily ever after. Above all, her decisions were hers to make, as they always should be.
Acknowledgments: Readers, I love you. You have made writing this series a complete delight. Thank you for coming along with me on this Wild(er) ride!
Thank you so much to my early readers, Christina Hovland, Dylann Crush, Brenda St. John Brown, and Rachel Grant. Thank you for taking time away from your own stories to help make this book the best it could be. Special thanks to Eliza Jones for being my “cold” reader—the one who gets to tell me whether someone entering the series with this book can make sense of the Wilder madness.
Writing books is strange work, and I owe my enjoyment of it to both my readers and my author friends. Huge thanks also to the author friends who support me on a regular basis—Audrey, Cheryl, Dylann, Megan, Christy, Brenda, Christine, Gwen, Rachel, Kate, Kris, Karen, Susannah, Claire, and many, many more, including but not limited to the authors of the Corner of Smart and Sexy, RAM Rom Com, Wide for the Win, Awesome Babes for Good Things, and my ongoing newsletter swaps.
Thank you to my agent, Emily Sylvan Kim, and my sub rights agent, Tina Shen!
Thank you, Sarah Sarai! I love working with you. Little did you know that your efforts this time would stray into tech troubleshooting—thank you for bearing with me on the strange case of the just-plain-wrong open quote marks! And thanks for that insight into a famous actor’s improbable middle name and the warning about my inadvertent crib of The Omen… I depend on you for these sorts of things.
Thank you, XPresso Book Tours, especially Giselle, for the release blitz!
Hugs and kisses for my not-author friends who support my imaginary worlds with so much love and patience: Aimee, Chelsea, Darya, Ellen, Gail, Jess, Julia, Kathy, Lauren, Molly, Soomie, and Tracey.
To BellGirl and BellBoy, you are the very best of all the people who have come before you—I am so proud of you and so blessed to have you in my life.
Mr. Bell: Thank you for arriving in my life like a romance hero in a meet cute; I always knew the stories were true but it sure as heck makes them easier to write when I have my own HEA. I love you.
Any errors of fact or insensitivity relating to representation are mine and mine alone. If you note any, please let me know so I can apologize and learn to be better.