ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to acknowledge those few companies in the publishing industry (including retailers) that help bring stories to readers without first editing the integrity of the work or infringing upon it misconceived racial notions (and you know who you are!). We all have stories to tell, and often—regardless of race—those stories are a lot more similar than they are different. Like many problems that we face in today’s world, if race could just be set aside, it would be easier for us all to understand and appreciate one another.

As for me personally, there are many people whose help, support, and encouragement I deeply appreciate. First and foremost, at a time when I’d decided to put away my pen and paper forever, my agent and attorney, Denise Brown, forced my hand, encouraging me to finish writing Gold Diggers (which I started over four years ago, two years before Kanye’s hot song!). But it wasn’t until I met Janet Hill at Random House/Broadway/Harlem Moon Books that I felt totally comfortable bringing this wonderful book to life; I knew that she would “get it.” It’s a painful and heart-wrenching experience for a creative person who puts his or her work up for public scrutiny to realize that those who are supposed to support the process don’t “get it” at all.

Next, I’d like to thank my family for reading and helping to promote everything I write (this includes Katherine Wimbley and Margaret Mroz!); my mother, Gloria Freeman, for passing on such creative DNA, and my sisters for sharing it (Alison Howard-Smith is a renowned contemporary African quilt maker: www.Quiltograph.com, and Jennifer Freeman is a very popular vocalist in Atlanta: www.JenniferFree.com). My nieces Chelsea Smith and Korian Young have inherited great genes and have much to look forward to! I was also smart enough to marry great genes—my husband, Scott Folks, is one of the most brilliant (and sweetest) men I’ve ever met (though my sister could argue the same for my brother-in-law, Donny Smith).

I also have to thank my crazy friends. I must say that I have the most eclectic assortment of friends, who are constantly feeding my fertile imagination. I’m often asked by some if they represent a character in my novels. Just for the record, the answer is almost always yes! It’s rarely (except in the case of CoAnne Wilshire in Why Sleeping Dogs Lie) a one-to-one comparison, but more often, quirky idiosyncrasies are filed away and dredged up to add additional flavor and spice to the characters in my books. This cast of characters include: Karen, my partner in our fashion company Ethos (ExperienceEthos.com), and her husband Oswald Morgan, Sharon Bowen and Larry Morse, Alicia and Danny Bythewood, Vikki Palmer, Baidy Agne, Omar Sow, Imara Canady, Judith and Juan Montier, Jocelyn Taylor, Vanessa and Bill Johnson, Lorri King and Edbert Morales, Pam Frederick and Monroe Bowden, Julie Borders, Len Burnett, my cousins April and Ted Phillips, Mario Rinaldi, Ken Taylor, OJ Simpson (no, not that one!), and Anne Simmons. There are others, like Eric Omores, Harold Dawson, and Michael Dortch, who also offer their friendship and support, both of which I appreciate greatly. I’m happy to say that I don’t count any gold diggers among my friends, though there are many among my acquaintances (and you know who you are, too!). After all, this is New York! For an incomplete list of famous and infamous gold diggers, both contemporary and the more legendary (provided by readers), please visit www.GoldDiggersTheNovel.com.

I also owe major thanks to Carol Mackey at Black Expressions for her continued support of my work, and to the hundreds of African American bookstores that we must support, lest our stories become history!

Furthermore, and above the rest, I thank God for all things large and small, and for each additional day I’m given to experience them all.