Acknowledgements
Where to start thanking people…There are so many people I want to thank for their encouragement, help and support throughout the journey I took as I wrote My Best Friend’s Fiancé. I don’t want anyone to feel offended because I didn’t put their name first. I’m going to mention people in no particular order, just people that I am thankful for.
My BETA girls…I want to thank you all for the support you have offered me. The times you’ve read these chapters over and over to make sure it was the best it could be. You’ll never know just how much that means to me.
Trudy Moore: thank you for being my sounding board and letting me bounce ideas off you constantly. For helping me in so many ways, words of encouragement, offering me your strength when my own wavered. For allowing me the privilege of writing you into this story. T.H. Moore wouldn’t exist without you. I love her character almost as much as I love you.
Carolyn Lee: thank you for reading My Best Friend’s Fiancé and telling me your honest thoughts on it. You are an author I respect and admire, so your encouragement means a lot. Thank you, my publishing sister.
Amanda Brown Jensen: thank you for being my Pox. You’re right, you were there just like a rash. I honestly appreciate everything you’ve done to support me since becoming my BETA reader.
Lucii Grubb: for taking the time out of your own writing schedule to help me, there will never be the words to express my gratitude. You are an author I respect and admire, but you’ve also become a little sister to me and I am grateful for everything you do for me.
Justine McFadyen: thank you for my Phylis. You are one of my closest friends. I know they say not to use friends as BETAs, but you have to use people you trust, and there aren’t many people I can say I trust as much as I do you. I love you.
Kara Stewart: my newest addition to the BETA team. Thank you for agreeing to help when I got burned. You really are my Saviour, even if that is also a reference to a bastard in The Walking Dead. (A hot bastard, I might add.) Thank you for reading my chapters over and over, for telling me when I’ve made a mistake, for telling me every day how much you are loving this story. It’s you that has restored my faith in myself. With my anxiety, I tend to hate everything I write. Not as I write it, but when I read it back to myself. But with My Best Friend’s Fiancé, I have grown to like what I’ve written. When you helped me pick teaser quotes, I was like “Woah, did I really write that?” I liked the quotes, and that’s a big thing for this anxious little lady. I hope you’ll remain a part of my team. I feel like you offered invaluable advice, gave me reason to smile, to laugh, and to have confidence in myself. There aren’t enough words to thank you for that. Oh, and thanks for letting me change Cara to Kara. I prefer it with a K. Even if I pronounce it differently to you with my British accent ;)
Laura Smith: You have been my rock. You’re the Cristina Yang to my Yin—sorry to anyone reading this section who hasn’t watched Grey’s Anatomy and won’t get the reference—Laura, you are *my person* I will always be your Meredith. Thank you for everything you have done for me since we met. I am eternally grateful and I LOVE you <3 You’ll always be one of the kindest, warmest, most loving people I have ever met and I can’t actually find the words to say thank you.
To Chele McKenzie; thank you for casting your eagle eye over the proof of MBFF at the last minute. You are seriously awesome. The way you encourage me and make me smile with the simplest of words, I couldn't be more grateful. You are an amazing friend and I love you <3 When a simple phone call ends up being 4 hours long, that's when I know I have a friend as mad as me and I love it!
To my darling son, Calum: you’re not old enough to read this yet (and I’m not sure you ever will be, in my eyes) but you always make me feel like I can do anything. You tell your teachers and anyone who listens that your mom is an author, your teachers have even bought my books because of you. You are proud of me like no one else I know. I’m so proud to call you my son. You’re the light of my life. I love you to the moon and back, my handsome little prince. <3
Thank you to my Nan for always supporting, encouraging, and loving me. For making me the woman I am today, and telling me to follow my dreams. I have a passion for reading which stems from you, and now I have a passion for writing the kind of stories I hope people like to read.
To my Auntie Julie: you are inspirational and you always support me no matter what I do. I wouldn’t be who I am without you in my life. You and Nan are my everything, after Calum, of course. I love you <3
Toni Rakestraw ‘Editor Extraordinaire’: You are amazing as always. Thank you for your support and encouragement through this process. You’ve been my editor for 4 out of my 5 books and I feel they are all the better for having you as the editor. You always make this so much easier and I’m truly grateful.
The Team at Limitless: Thank you for everything. For taking a chance on me for the fifth time. You guys make this girl feel that much better about her writing.
Deranged Doctor Designs: Thank you for the amazing cover, you guys really knocked this out of the park. I couldn't have imagined a better visualisation of my characters. This may be my favourite cover yet - it will definitely take some beating. You just raised the bar!
Thank you to Paul and Heather Morgan at Blakelands Country House for allowing me to use your stunning location in my story. To Louise Passmore-Whiting, who answered all my questions regarding the wedding scene and all my other enquiries. Thank you to Chloe Morgan for asking about doing a feature on this book once it’s published. I’m truly looking forward to seeing that happen.
To the team at Choccywoccydoodah; thanks for allowing me to say you created my fictional wedding cake. You all rock! Thank you Christine T for answering my initial email with a yes. You’ll never know how good that felt.
And finally…
Thank you to everyone who has read my books. Whether MBFF is your first or you’ve been with me from the start; thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support, it means the world to me.
If you enjoyed My Best Friend’s Fiancé, please consider leaving a review, whether it’s a couple of sentences or more, it’s always much appreciated. <3
To say I’m grateful to everyone who’s read this book would be an understatement. I’m not just grateful, I am indebted to each of you. I wouldn’t be the woman I am today without all the events of my past. I wouldn’t be an author if people hadn’t told me to follow my dreams, wherever they may lead. There are so many people in my life that have helped shape who I have become. You’re all in my heart <3
You have made me happier than I have been in a long time. To see my other books being bought and read, I am silently appreciative of that. I should shout it from the rooftops, so here’s my shout-out to you all;
Thank you for reading my work. Whether you’ve been with me since the start of my journey back in 2012, or you joined me somewhere along the way, maybe this is the first book you have read of mine; I can’t thank you enough. There are not enough words to acknowledge you all. Just know that your support means the world to me and I don’t know where I’d be without it.
This is my fifth novel and hopefully there will be many more to follow. I do hope you’ll take the time to read those too.
Love you all. Until next time…
Keren <3