I’m gonna try to be brief, but my road to publication was a zillion miles long and I have lots of people to thank! So here we go.
First and foremost, to my amazing literary agent, Elizabeth Bennett. The only reason I’ve stayed sane throughout the highs and lows of my publishing journey is because of your thoughtful guidance and unwavering belief in my work. I knew when writing this book that it would be an unconventional sell (and a far cry from the rest of your list!) — but you faced the challenge head-on and found it the most perfect home. I can’t thank you enough for everything.
When people talk about the importance of finding an editor who “gets” your book, they’re so right. And no one gets Burn It All Down more than my incredible editor, T.S. Ferguson. Thank you for being such a relentless advocate for this book that you basically moved mountains (no big deal) to acquire it. And thank you for working your editorial magic to help whip it into the shape it’s in today! Joey and Gia have grown so much because of your pitch-perfect insights and suggestions.
Speaking of the mountains that were moved to make this book happen! So many heartfelt thanks to Jenny Bak for championing this book through a twisty acquisitions journey, and to the legendary James Patterson for (1) being James Patterson, and (2) getting behind this book in such a big way. I’m still pinching myself!
Thank you to my wonderful film agent, Dana Spector, for your belief in this story and its potential to transcend mediums. And to the rest of the teams at Transatlantic Literary Agency and CAA — I’m so lucky to have such amazing representation all around.
Special shout-outs to Scott Bryan Wilson for the impeccable copyedits (particularly with regards to legal- and wagon-related matters!) and Linda Arends for getting this manuscript past the finish line.
Huge thanks to the world-class publishing teams at Little, Brown and JIMMY Patterson Books, including: Denise Roy, Laura Schreiber, Caitlyn Averett, Erinn McGrath, Josh Johns, Daniel Denning, Charlotte LaMontagne, Flo Yue, Jordan Mondell, Liam Donnelly, Tracy Shaw, Blue Guess, Alexis Lassiter, Shawn Foster, Danielle Cantarella, Ned Rust, Jannelle DeLuise, and everyone else whose behind-the-scenes efforts have gone into the making of this book. It takes a village, and I’m grateful to have the best village in the world!
Huge thanks to my fellow authors (and inspirations!) Hannah Orenstein and Steven Rowley for being so incredibly generous with your support of this book.
To Steven Salvatore: OMG, can you believe this is happening right now? I can’t even know what to say about how life-changing your friendship and critique partnership has been for me through the years. Our publishing journeys have been so eerily synced — from the blog days to the query trenches to submission hell and beyond — that I have no choice but to believe we were brought together by God (a.k.a. Mariah Carey). I honestly don’t know where I’d be without our therapeutic (oftentimes unhinged) Gchat sessions. Gandhi! All my books would suck if it weren’t for your spot-on editorial feedback. Thank you so much for everything. We did it!
To Julia Foster: Remember when we became each other’s first-ever CPs after a short series of blog comments and emails, and then just assumed that our first books would go on to be these huge successes, and then slowly had our dreams shattered over the course of hundreds and hundreds of rejections, and then almost gave up about a zillion times each? I’m so glad neither of us ever did. Thank you so much for your always-exactly-what-I-need-to-hear critiques, and for being such an incredible friend and shoulder throughout all the ebbs and flows of this insane journey. We are overdue for another cheesecake date!
To the beta readers and friends who have graciously read my work in its various stages of incoherence and profanity over the years: Fran Ferrara (BFF and first-ever reader!), Dinah Alobeid (eagle-eyed proofreading queen!), Melissa Somosky (character development goddess!), Monsé Barrera (#BikiniCat4Lyfe!), and Katie DiDomizio (love you, cous!!!).
To all the educators who encouraged me to pursue writing back in the day — especially Kristen Hedlund-Esemplare at Western Connecticut State University (who said, “You can and should!” when I told her I dreamed of writing a book one day), and Lynn Talmont at Cromwell Middle School (who sent me to a gifted writer’s workshop at UConn in sixth grade, where I distinctly remember using the word “fuck” in a short story for the first time, because I figured what the hell, I was basically a college student for the day).
To all the readers, writers, editors, and others who’ve played a part in my writing journey — from the blogosphere to Twitter to Mic to the world of fiction and beyond. There are too many to list here (I feel like I’ve been rambling and I need to wrap this up?!), but I’m so grateful to each and every one of you for the support and inspiration.
Special shout-out to the staff at Brewshot Café at Liberty Harbor in Jersey City, who kept me caffeinated for hours on end as I drafted and edited this manuscript.
I’m so lucky to have the most amazing group of family and friends who have kept me going throughout the past decade I’ve spent pursuing this dream. I wish I could shout out all of you individually, but again: I’m a rambling bitch. So I’ll just say that you all know who you are, and I couldn’t have done this without you.
To Tony and Cheryl DiDomizio for all the inspiration, laughs, cheerleading, and support (and also Netflix) over the years. And to Wesley (a.k.a. Sir Wesley) and Violette, simply for being the cutest, most perfect godchildren in all the land.
To Dad, for always having such a great sense of humor and passing it along to me. To Laurie, for making the best chicken parm in the tri-state area. And to both of you — I could have never written a book (or done literally anything in life) without your endless supply of love and support over the years. Thank you so much for everything. Next round of keno is on me!
To Mom, for all the obvious reasons. This book isn’t really about us — but it also wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the many adventures we’ve had together (particularly that one time in 1999 when we shaving-creamed the Cambridge Drive house in a fit of post-divorce rage). Without your unconditional love and guidance, I never would have survived the endless string of Luke-esque assholes I dated circa 2006 through 2013, and I certainly wouldn’t have been able to write this (or any other) book. Thank you for being my lifetime best friend and partner in (non-literal!) crime. This book is dedicated to you, because who else would I dedicate it to?
Finally, to my love — a.k.a. my baben — Graig Williams. There’s no one I’d rather meander through this journey of life with. Your love and support over the past six-plus years has kept me going when I wanted to give up, sane when I wanted to fly off the handle, and strong when I wanted to be weak. (Basically the lyrics to “Because You Loved Me” by Celine Dion are how I feel about you.) It still amazes me that you had a front-row seat at watching me fail repeatedly — like, over and over and over and over and over again — for so many years… and yet you never once questioned my ability to succeed. Your belief in me is a gift I’ll never take for granted.