THEY SAID SEQUELS were difficult. Torturous. The Devil’s very own punishment for writing a series. But I refused to believe it. We authors can tend toward dramatics, you see. We do like a good story to tell. Even if it was true, everyone’s process is different and I had plenty of time to be sure I would not let the Curse of the Impossible Sequel™ take me down.
Until I started writing.
Guess what? Sequels are difficult.
There’s the “continuing of the story but needing to make it feel brand new” … The “reminding the reader of past events without sounding too repetitive” … And let us not gloss over the EXPECTATIONS (both my own and readers’). And don’t even get me started on love triangles! It’s … a lot. More than enough to give an author a decent case of writer’s block.
Thank the sun and moon and all the goodness in the world that I have an amazing team and support network because this book truly took a village.
First and foremost, I have to thank my editors, Kat Brzozowski and Holly West. If it wasn’t for Kat’s keen eye to detail and knack for spotting troublesome emotional beats, this story would be a lot messier. Kat is also a pro at balancing constructive honesty with laugh-out-loud humor. She’s the best cheerleader an author could have in their corner. As far as story structure goes, I was told Holly was the “plot wizard”: but little did I know the magic she would spin. Without her editor’s wand, this book might very well still be a pile of several unfinished outlines. She also very much supported the idea of Veda and Nico ending up together (she made LOTS of good arguments). Thank you both for your unwavering support and love for this project.
Of course, a huge helping of overflowing thanks goes to Swoon Reads and Macmillan Publishing and the rest of the village that made this book and the Beware the Night duology possible. Huge thanks to Jean Feiwel, Lauren Scobell, Alexei Esikoff, Julia Gardiner, Teresa Ferraiolo, Liz Dresner, Raymond Colón, and Madison Furr. A super-squishy thank-you to the Swoon Reads online readers who literally helped get this series published. I appreciate you more than you’ll ever know.
Thank you to anyone who reads this series—I’m grateful to you for taking a chance on Veda and her story. I sincerely hope it provided some enjoyment and entertainment and gifted you a brief escape into another world.
Special thanks to Macmillan Audio and the incredibly talented Vanessa Moyen for giving Veda, Nico, and all of Bellona such a strong, magical voice! It’s a wonderous experience as an author to get to hear your story come to life.
Those gorgeous book covers … I’m still in awe. Without Elen Winata’s unique artistic stylings and unforgettable, eye-catching illustrations these books would not be complete. Thank you, Elen, for creating the perfect artwork for the world I crafted.
Overwhelming appreciation and thanks to my absolutely fabulous agent, Fiona Kenshole. It’s a lovely, lovely thing to know your career and best interests are in the most competent of hands. Thank you, Fiona, for being such a grounding source of support and inspiration.
As previously mentioned, I wrote the original Beware the Night story years ago. Thank you to everyone in my writing community who has supported this series in all of its forms and phases. Biggest of thanks to the friends and family who have read, tweeted, Facebooked, Instagram’ed, purchased, reviewed, and shouted from the mountaintops about these books (special shout-out to Dani Bird who literally left my books all over Europe and the US!). A special rainbow sprinkle–covered thanks to my critique partner and go-to commiserator, Jeannette Smejkal. I would not have gotten through this book (or any book, for that matter) without your support and virtual hugs, chocolate, and wine. All of that to say, this author’s heart is full.
To my parents, who were sure to instill a sense of wonder, exploration, creativity, and a bit of stubbornness in me, I love you.
Last but not least the greatest of thanks to my family. Ainsley and Sierra—you’re always supportive of me running out to the coffee shop to write (even when you don’t want to be) and I thank you for that. It fills me with joy to be your mom and it will always be my most important work. To Wade—you’re the best. Thank you for reading my books in one sitting, for doing all of the small, special things you do, and for loving and supporting me along this crazy journey.