If you’re the sort of person who reads acknowledgments, you’re probably well aware that creating a book is a group effort.
This book simply would not exist without my amazing agent, Lara Perkins. For a long time I was stuck on a different story, one that was sucking all the fun out of writing for me, but that I just couldn’t seem to let go of. I made Lara read that manuscript approximately eighty-seven times before deciding to shelve it, but each time Lara gave me the most encouraging, insightful feedback. When I finally had a shiny new idea I was excited about, she read my messy early draft and immediately found the heart of the story. I’m forever grateful she understands my writing and the stories I want to tell (often better than I do!), and that she’s such a constant source of support and inspiration. Also, she comes up with the best titles.
It has been such a joy working with my editor, Tashya Wilson. It’s possible she loves my characters as much as I do, and she pushed me to dig deeper into their interior lives, which was ridiculously fun. Thanks to Tashya’s thoughtful edits, I also fell down the rabbit hole of Bayes’ theorem applications and now have a decent understanding of it...I think.
The team at Inkyard Press and HarperCollins made this journey a delight, especially Bess Braswell, Brittany Mitchell, Laura Gianino, Gigi Lau, Mary Luna, Peter Cronsberry, Nancy Fischer, Heather Foy, Andrea Pappenheimer, and the Harper Children’s sales team.
There have been a fair amount of ups and downs since publishing my debut, and I don’t know where I’d be without my critique partners, Laurie Flynn, Victoria Lee, RuthAnne Snow, and Mackenzi Lee. These excellent humans brainstorm with the best of them, have stopped me from quitting more times than I can count, and always offer invaluable feedback (and on more than one occasion, a thorough explanation of Bayes’ theorem—thanks, V!). In short, they make me a better writer.
Special shout-out to Ashley, my high school anatomy lab partner. I may not remember the names of every muscle in the body anymore, but our inside jokes live on.
Always and forever thankful for my husband and best friend, Jim. He makes following my dreams possible, and I fall more in love with him every day.