To my publisher, Jason Pinter, at the amazing, uber-cool indie powerhouse that is Polis Books: thanks for making this trilogy a reality, and for the Grey Goose Dirty Martinis in New York that made me feel like a real author. Thank you.

To Myrsini Stephanides of Carol Mann Agency, thank you.

Thanks to Christine LePorte once again for your excellent copyediting skills on the book. You have yet again saved me from messing up stuff and I am very thankful for your efforts!

To author David Healey, for his fantastic book Great Storms of the Chesapeake as a reference source. I was writing my first novel The Scarlet Letter Society during the “Great Derecho of 2012” and was at The Tilghman Island Inn when the glass wall blew in during the storm, which I didn’t know had an official name until I read your book. Thanks!

And to my friend HRH Alex, who sat next to me outside on the island in an Adirondack chair during that Great Derecho of 2012 because watching it was so cool and going inside to safety was boring—thanks for the NYC lodging during each of my book releases, and for your friendship!

To Zachary and Alex (that reading!) and Brahm and Charlie and all who have provided g-inspiration for my Wes and Alfie characters. How lucky, we women who have gay friends.

Special thanks to Bob and Tracy at Black Walnut Point Inn, the real southernmost tip of the very real Tilghman Island, for providing the bucolic spot (complete with fox porn), where I broke all personal word count writing records, and the inspiration for the site of the big storm and the big gay rainbow Jell-O whipped cream pool fantasy scene that should become reality so I can pretty-please be invited.

To all my real-life Tilghman friends, Patricia and John, Sue and Jay, Henry and Scott, the lovely ladies of the Tilghman Island Book Club who have supported the book and been such perfect friends. Thanks to Willy Roe, for telling me storm stories. Thanks to Stuart and Nadine, for the best writing cottage on the island. Thanks to Knapps Narrows, for my unofficial kayaking (“don’t die!”) membership. Thanks to Lisa, as always, for my happy, sandy place.

To friends who have supported me by showing up at book signings: you know who you are. I love you with all my heart. It means the world to me to see your face there. I won’t ever forget that you were there. Thank you.

To my sea glass friends: even though I’ve met you online, you are very real to me. (I have been fortunate to meet and become real-life friends with some of you!) I talk to you more each day than I do many of the real people in my real life. Sea glass hunting was my reward for hitting word counts on this book and all my books, and that’s why there’s sea glass in each book. Now that I’ve completed this trilogy of novels, I’m hoping to work on a beachcombing memoir in honor of the meaning that our hobby has in my life. Thank you all for your beautiful words and photographs and for making me feel less lonely in my writing career. My job and my hobby are both pretty isolating—meeting people from around the world through the #seaglass hashtag on Instagram or in Facebook groups has made that isolation disappear, and I am grateful for your friendship.

To Charlotte, for the music. WOW. A mix tape? Awesome beyond words. Thank you.

Thanks to friends who have written a book review, left a review on Amazon or Goodreads, or shared my book on social media. I can’t thank you enough for spreading the love. I love you back. Thank you.

To Tracy, thanks for being my other-half Wildwood T-shirt bestie, Flyers-Rangers (please see book’s shout out to your goalie, though) cheesesteak and fries, peanut butter jelly Delaware dinner, movie buddy, real life not-just-Facebook friend. Go Flyers.

Psychics are awesome. I’m lucky to have two. One I’ve never met, in England, Mesina of PsychicWhispers.com. She’s amazing. I’ve talked to her for a decade and she’s never been wrong. She’s not just a psychic, she’s a friend. My other psychic, Lori Wheeler, of Mystic Phenomenon, is also my friend, and lives in my town. Also never wrong, she has helped me at book signings as well, and I am grateful. These people are important to me because not long ago I lost my little sister, Beth, to suicide. My first book, The Scarlet Letter Society, is dedicated to her. Psychic mediums can help you stay in touch with a loved one who has crossed over, and Mesina and Lori, who both give me the exact same messages from Beth (psychics are real) help me remember that even when we lose a loved one who’s very close to us, they are always still with us. Thank you, Mesina and Lori.

To Michael Whitehill, for your nautical and theatrical inspiration.

Liz: since first grade and forever, thanks for always being there for me. I love you.

To Russ Smith, publisher of Splice Today, even though I know you don’t read this trashy crap, still, I’m here thanking you for making me a better writer and for only cutting out like 65% of the curse words in my weekly essays. Thanks for letting me be your website editor even though the title “Senior Editor” makes me feel like an AARP membership is far closer than it is.

To Kara, I mean, seriously, dude, are you even looking for your name back here, because I dedicated the actual fucking book to you. Soooooo. Just a little bit more of an acknowledgment than any other acknowledgment (hair twist)…. But seriously. I have no words to thank you for your inspiration not only in vintage sports car navigation, but also in creative thought process spontaneity in a metallic chipped beef environment at the Centreville Truck Stop, without which none of this trilogy really ever could have occurred. When I said “writer’s block,” you said “seafood dominatrix” and I just ran with it. Also, you’re one of the best friends I could have ever asked for in this life, soooo there’s that. Thanks, Hermey. I love you.

Thanks to my fantastic siblings and Mom and Dad for your unending love and support. Angry Birds war hero brother, you know who you are.

Thanks to my squad: Bob, Sarah, Molly, Faith, Bobby. You’re my heart, always. Thanks for your patience when I’m on the island like some kind of diva who can’t write without a water view. I love you more than I could ever say, and always.