I’M KEENLY AWARE of the great host of people who help bring a book to life. People think it’s the novelist sitting there alone every day, conjuring up words in her head, and yes, that is mostly true. But it is easy to get sucked into the weeds, caught into the mire of your own tangled brain, and emerge with something that is dark and snarled and unredeemable. Thankfully, the Lord has put into my life people who keep my head above the weeds and my eyes pointed in the right direction. People like Rachel Hauck, my faithful, creative, and brilliant writing partner who not only listens to all my crazy ideas and sorts them out to find those that are workable, but also keeps me on track between every scene. Everybody needs a writing partner who they can call in the wee hours of the night, or even during holidays, someone who says “no problem that I’m eating Christmas dinner, I’ll just set that aside and go into my room and help you brainstorm your entire book over again. Yippee!”
I also need to thank the amazing people at Revell. What a joy to work with such a talented group, starting with Andrea Doering, my amazing editor, Kristin Kornoelje, my line editor, and then of course the awesome marketing team including Michele Misiak and Karen Steele. To work with this team of brilliant people who see the vision for the story and the rest in the series, to have them partner with you and help bring it to life, is like a gust of wind on a hot, humid day.
Obviously, I’m grateful to my husband for listening to my workings-out of the story during our morning walks. Of course I have to listen to his diagnosis of his current car restoration project, so it’s sort of equal, but still, I’m grateful for his input on the male point of view. And, big appreciation goes to my son David, who is such a great storycrafter it blows me away. All the best twists are his.
And finally Jesus. Of course, Jesus, who really does show up to help me with every word. It’s what I love most about writing a book. It stretches me and hopefully makes me into a better person because I get to spend time with the Savior in the desperate quest for words and story. And he is always faithful.
Thank you for reading Storm Front! Discover the exciting conclusion to the Montana Rescue series in Wait for Me, Jess and Pete’s story!
Susie May