Acknowledgments
So many people to thank. I love this part because I get to unleash all of the love and appreciation I've kept bound up during Franco's journey.
First shout out goes to you. Yes, YOU. So many books to read, I'm honored you chose mine. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. ALL the thank yous.
Story time. Two years ago, Totally Booked put up a lovely post about Bright Side on Facebook (thank you Jenny and Gitte). And Gemma, a wild little strawberry blond from Northern England, with a penchant for You Me At Six, leopard print, and gin, commented. An immediate, hardcore friendship was born. This book is a salute to that friendship and one of the best people I know, and though the story is fictional, Gemma is not. She's truly special and one of a kind. Thank you, my Jama, for being my bestie. Thank you for turning me on to my favorite music, for listening when I need to vomit nonsense, for making me laugh until I cry, for sending me photos of nice looking dudes when I need a writing muse (or even when I don't), for sharing your precious family with my family (because bromance is everything and so is Lola), for teaching me how to put on makeup, for gifting me Bieber jammies, for spotting Pedro in the wild with me, for teaching me fun British terms, for trying guac and root beer for me even though you think they're vile, for inspiring me to be a better person, and for attending the fucking Casa Bonita Frozen Strawberry Margarita Mixer with me. You truly are sunshine in a human. I'm raising my shot of Jager and toasting you. Cheers! I love you.
My rough drafts are always, well, rough. Super rough. Thank you to Lindsey Burdick, Amy Donnelly, Allison Dunnings, Gemma Hitchen, Colleen Hoover, and Janet Wallace for reading an early copy (and ignoring the fact that I can't place a comma to save my life) with an open mind and offering thoughtful feedback in return. Your keen eye, talent, honesty, precious time, and big hearts mean the world to me, and this book is better because of you. Thank you for your friendship. I love you.
Amy Donnelly at Alchemy and Words. This is the part where I bow down and kiss your feet. Thank you for being with me from beginning to end on this project. From the endless struggle with plot while writing through to the final proof and formatting, you're my hero. Your thoughtful attention to detail always turns my books into something I'm proud to publish. Thank you for that. But more importantly, thank you for your friendship. Every day it's solid and steady. Thank you for listening to me cry and for making me laugh. And for being an adopted member of our family. I love you.
Big thank you to Susan Rossman for dropping everything to proofread this little book. Your heart and spirit are larger than life. It's an honor to call you my friend. I love you.
This cover. This. Cover. Brandon Hando, aside from being the love of my life for twenty-six years, your creative eye never fails to floor me. Thank you for your endless patience and support and for always designing a cover (and swag, t-shirts, etc.) that captures the heart of the story and makes me smile like a lunatic. Sometimes your covers are subtle. Sometimes they're not. But they're always symbolic and artistic. And you never stop until I love it as much as you do—that is everything. This cover is a bit of a departure from what we usually do, but it truly is Franco. Massive thanks to Love N. Books (www.LoveNBooks.com), photographer Daniel A. Flores (www.DFVFX.com), and cover model Graham Nation for making it possible to put a flesh and blood Franco on the cover. Graham, if I ever meet you in person, and I call you Franco, can you just roll with it and pretend I'm not crazy?
Shout out to Ridge from "Maybe Someday" by Colleen Hoover. He's one of my absolute favorite characters ever. Thank you, Colleen, for letting me borrow him for a few pages and include him in a cameo. Love you both.
Beth Flynn. When my grace stumbles and my sanity is threatened, you're always there. Thank you, sis. I love you.
Miss Allison Dunnings is a wildly inspirational person in my life for a million and one reasons—a precious human full of life, bravery, curiosity, positivity, and love. She's also crazy talented at writing music and has the voice of an angel. Thank you for letting me include your song "Goodbye Los Angeles" in this book. I'm forever grateful. I love you. If you'd like to make your ears happy and listen to "Goodbye Los Angeles," or any of Future Husband's music (I'm begging you to do so because it's magical) please visit her website at: https://futurehusbands.bandcamp.com/
Music will, always and forever, fuel my writing. It inspires me endlessly. Thank you to the following bands on my playlist for streaming through my earbuds, keeping me company, prompting plot, and evolving characters in ways that wouldn't have been possible without you and your art: The Chainsmokers, X Ambassadors, Zibra, DJ Snake featuring Justin Bieber, Future Husbands, The Beach, Nothing But Thieves, Royal Blood, The Hunna, Bishop Briggs, James Bay, Sunset Sons, You Me At Six, Walking On Cars, and James Arthur. Special thanks and hugs to The Hunna. Their song "Bad For You" pulled me out of month's long writer's block and helped me finish this story.
Thank you to my agent Jane Dystel at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC for your ongoing support of me and belief in my little books. Big shout out to Lauren Abramo, as well, for all you do. I appreciate you both, and your team, so very much.
Mom and Dad, you rock. Thank you for forty-four years of love and support. I love you.
To my husband, B., and my little dude (who's not so little anymore), Phoenix, I love you. More than anything, I love you. You are the other half of my heart and soul and a daily reminder of all that's precious and important in life. Thank you for your unconditional love, patience, and humor.
And last, but certainly not least, thank you from the bottom of my heart to every reader, blogger, fellow author, and Bright Sider for your friendship. Writing started as a dream, and it remains so to this day. Thank you for standing beside me and holding my hand while I chase it. I'm hugging you—I hope you feel it because I'm putting everything I've got into it. Seriously, I'm holding my breath and squeezing really, really hard. I love you all.