Acknowledgements
Sydney Delores Herring and Maddie Round are two very special young women. They wrote me in December 2013 and absolutely gushed over the Flat books and me, and they did so at a time when I was discouraged and utterly confused and uninspired to write. After messaging back and forth with them one evening, I fell asleep hearing Celeste in my head. It was borderline creepy how clearly she spoke to me, but it was then that I knew I could—and had to—write Flat-Out Celeste. How could I not? Sydney and Maddie call me “the author,” Flat-Out Love “the book,” and Matt “the character.” I’m humbled and curtsying like crazy over these girls.
This book would never have been possible without the endless help that Rebekah Crane gave Celeste and me. The hand holding, the yelling of, “Let it land!”, and the unwavering championing were the reason I could write. Without Rebekah, there could be no Flat-Out Celeste. Smart, brilliantly funny, and loyal, she is everything one could ask for in book advisor, and even more important, in a friend.
Liis McKinstry, Mo Mabie, Whitney McGregor, Aestas, Whitney McGregor, Rob Zimmerman, Marlana Grela, Maryse Coutier Black, Jen Halligan, Jamie McGuire, Tracy Crawford Hutchinson, Rebecca Donovan, Tammara Webber, and Tracey Garvis-Graves have extended themselves in so many ways. All have proven to be generous, loving, and supportive over the past few years, and I thank them with all of my heart for their dedication to me and to my books. They continue to cheerlead enthusiastically when I am discouraged and whiny and have certainly earned wild applause.
There is not enough praise to throw Autumn Hull’s way. What a stupendous job she’s done for me with Celeste’s promotion! As talented a publicist as she is, Autumn is equally kind and caring on a personal level, and I am very thankful to have her in my corner.
Antoinette Woodward pulled me from a ledge just before I jumped, and she has my eternal love.
Without Maria Milano, Justin would not have a last name. Also, she has a true knack for proofreading and can spot a missing word a mile away, and Celeste and I owe her dinner.
My friend Tom, while in the battle of a lifetime, still insisted on hearing about Celeste and giving me his time and creative input. I needed that hand-holding desperately, and he got me through a few huge struggles and desperate days. His patience for my babbling and thinking out loud cannot be underestimated.
Not a day goes by that Andrew Kaufman does not support me, challenge me, make me laugh, and offer me the most layered and remarkable friendship a girl could ask for. He knew what it meant to me to get this book written and published, and he never once gave up on me. Andrew manages to be the voice of reason and calm during my frequent hysterics, and he has the ability to talk me through even the most crazy of thinking. I would be, without question, lost without him.
Carmen Comeaux is so smart and fabulous that I was scared to send her my manuscript. Her sharp eye and immeasurable editing skills are much appreciated. College may be far behind, but friendship is not.
My longtime friend Alexa Lewis did a wonderful job line editing and included amusing comments, such as, “This line sounds like a Celine Dion song. Change? Unless you’re going for that.” So she caught typos and catastrophic word choices. I couldn’t ask for more.
Thank you to Dawn Abby Gil and Dallas Fryer for letting me borrow their names. I hope I did them justice.
John Vosseler talked me through Sunset Cliffs, and on my next trip to San Diego, I’m there!
I’ve got a core group of twenty women with whom I fight the good fight each day. The publishing world is not easy, and it means everything that I have them to catch me when I fall and celebrate with me when I climb. I’m throwing handfuls of glitter at them right now, and each one of them looks positively stunning.
And as always, gratitude to my ever-patient family for allowing me to disappear for days and picking up the slack during crunch time. Apologies to my son who continues to suggest that I “should really think about writing something else.” Perhaps one day I will write that epic science fiction book…
My readers and bloggers: Man, am I lucky. They give me more than I ever understood possible with their encouragement, and humor, and sending of unicorn paraphernalia and Wonder Woman pictures. They are the reason that I have a career, and I don’t forget that for a second. Special love out to my Facebook and Twitter followers who are the most wild and wonderful crowd imaginable. Clearly I cannot list you all here (although I’d love to!), but I know so many of your names from our frequent interactions, and you all rock my world hard. See you soon, my friends.
And finally, thank you to The Coffee People for making Black Tiger k-cups, to Amazon for delivering my fuel at near light speed, and for the baristas at my local Starbucks for knowing to add an extra espresso shot to everything.