They say it takes a village and truthfully, Hollywood Witch Hunter would be nothing with out a whole lot of people.
First, to my husband, Brent—most people don’t believe in soul mates, or true love, or a deep, aching bond between two people which surpasses all reason and lasts a lifetime. Well, I do, because I found that in you. Thank you for encouraging me, being by my side, and selflessly helping me along the way. You are the best thing to ever happen to my life and I count everyday I have with you as the greatest of blessings. I couldn’t have done it, with out you. Mi amado es mio y yo soy suya.
To my fabulous editor Meredith Rich—though you are too nice to ever admit it, or really even think it, I wouldn’t have blamed you if you had days when you pondered, “Why did I take on working with Valerie Tejeda?” (Ha!) I know I’m obsessive and “balls to the walls” with everything I do, and I’m sure I get a *little* overbearing at times. But I appreciate you taking on me and Hollywood Witch Hunter more than you will ever know. Thank you so much for being behind HWH from the start and helping me fix such a mess of a book. (Let’s get real, the first draft was a doozy). And thank you for supporting diversity, and being in my corner, and for making my dream of becoming a published author come true. I will never forget it and I owe you big time.
To Lizzy Mason and everyone at Bloomsbury Publishing—thank you for your constant support and excitement for HWH. I feel so lucky to be a part of the Bloomsbury US/UK family so thank you for welcoming me with open arms!
To Maggie Hall—thank you for designing a cover that was more than I could ever ask for. Girl, you’ve got skills, and I’ll be swooning over the HWH cover forever because its fabulous.
To Linda Minton—thank you for using your amazing copyediting skills to shape up this book and for letting me get away with using words like “beotch” and “skeez.” I hope some of my word choices brought a smile to your face.
To all the Fearless Fifteeners and other author friends (who are not Fifteeners) like Heather Marie, Tonya Kuper, Stephanie Garber, Jessica Taylor and all the Binders, thank you for becoming my “publishing family” and for being my safe haven in this crazy world.
To all the fabulous people at We Need Diverse Books. Thank you for being behind my book and for promoting diversity in an industry which still desperately needs it.
To my industry inspirations (some of whom I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing)—Brittany Geragotelis, Danielle Paige, Kami Garcia, Jennifer Armentrout, Cara Lynn Shultz, Rachel Hawkins, and Sarah Maas. Thank you for all being so encouraging and accepting of a newbie like me and for believing in me and my book! It truly means the world!
To my witchy author friend Michelle Krys—thank you for walking me through this industry and being my writer soulmate. I’m convinced Indigo and Iris are hunting witches together in an alternate reality somewhere and who knows, maybe one day we’ll join them? ;)
To the magazine editors who took a chance on me as a writer, particularly, Tehrene Firman (my true spirit animal), Julia Rubin, Jessica Pels, Samantha Leal, Dan Kody (who published my first article ever!) and Jesus Trivino. Thank you for taking on my early writing and giving opportunities I always dreamed of. You may not realize that you impacted my life, but for a journalist trying to climb the ladder, you did, and it was huge. Those opportunities led to me writing a book, so thank you!
To ALL my family—thank you for everything you guys have done to help shape my life. A big thank you to my lovely mom for being my “boo” and for telling everyone and their mother about my book. To my dad for showing me the value and importance of hard work. To my parent-in-laws Mark and Lisa for being so supportive and happy for me right from the start. To my sis-in-law Bre for being my favorite person to talk books with and for reading the early drafts of HWH even when they sucked. To Logan, my adorable niece Evelyn, my siblings, and the “babies” of the family Justin and Christopher—thank you for always bringing a smile to my face.
To my Aunt Susan—thank you for being my industry mentor and telling me my writing was good even when I thought it wasn’t. You have no idea how much your late night phone calls helped me and I will be forever grateful for all of your help.
To my dear friends Lydia, Todd, and Caleb—thank you for being so excited for me and not thinking I was crazy when I said I wrote a “Twilight type” book. To all the Tejedas, Salas family, McCluskeys and Rogers, my Burbank childhood buddies, and my college roomies who I will always cherish forever—thank you all for being such a joy in my life throughout the years.
To the original Peets Posse—Maddie, I’Manee, Jordan, Katie C, Emma, and all the other fabulous baristas at Peets Coffee and Tea in Rocklin, California. Thank you for being so enthusiastic about my book and for basically fueling me with coffee to write it. And also, for always having my Americano with heavy whipping cream ready when you spotted me walking through the door.
And last but certainly not least, a big thank you to the Latino community. Thank you for supporting a book with a Latina protagonist without even blinking. I’m so proud of this side of my heritage and so grateful to be a part of this community and family. My hope is that we continue to see more and more Hispanic characters who are not the sidekicks, but who are allowed to tell their own stories and be the hero that is inside of us all.
Si, se puede.