Writing a book is hard. Writing this book was extra hard. Behind the Bars dealt with so many road blocks during the writing process. I’ve written and re-written this story so many times trying to find the best way to give Elliott and Jasmine the story they were asking for. This book almost broke me. If it weren’t for a group of extraordinary individuals to hold my hand, I’m not sure I would’ve made it out alive. This is a story about strength, so let me quickly showcase where my strength comes from.

This book is for you, Mama. My ‘Laura’. You are my rock, day in and day out. You are the voice of reason when I’m irrational, you are the calmness to my erratic sea. Thank you for always holding my hand and saying that everything always works out. You’re right—it does. You have no clue how much you mean to me, and I’ll spend the remainder of my life trying to show you. You are the music in a mute world.

To my sisters, Tiffani and Candace: You are everything good in the world. I know they say family isn’t what you are born into, it’s who you choose, but in this situation, you are both. You are my blood, you are my heartbeats, and I would choose you over and over again for the rest of my life. You are the Prue and Piper to my Phoebe. In the words of The Originals: “We stick together as one. Always and Forever.”

To my brothers who will probably never read this: You are living proof that there are good men in this world. The world needs more good, kindhearted, funny, respectful, and loving men. Thank you for being exactly that. You all are a good thing.

To my papa: my cheerleader! Thanks for singing the praises of my books, even though it makes me blush and go, “Dad! Stoppp!” You’re a hardworking man with an amazing heart.

To my agent, Flavia: You saved this book, and you saved me from crumbling. Thank you for reading re-write after re-write to help me in the late hours. From pushing me, and challenging me to put my all into the craft of storytelling. For believing in me—that’s my favorite part: your belief in me as an author and a person. Your belief in my writing when I struggled to see my own worth. Thank you for always standing by my side through every storm. When I think of strength, I think of you.

To my best friend. The Ann to my Leslie. The Princess to my Frog. I love you, Samantha. I love your heart and how it beats for love and justice, and all the beautiful things in the world. I love that you still love me even though I disappear during writing deadlines. I love that we sometimes hold full conversations with only memes. I love how somehow those are our most profound messages. I love you, and your husband, and your daughters more than words. If I could put a meme in this book for you it would be the ‘Musk Ox’ one from Parks and Rec. Obviously.

To Kandi Steiner—the girl who gets me more than most. Your messages of encouragement and words of wisdom stay so close to my heart. Then, during my breakdown about my cover, you swooped in and designed the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Your heart is huge, and I love you so much. You are truly such a blessing to me, and I don’t know how I became so lucky to call you one of my closest friends. We are the girls who feel everything, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

To Talon, Maria, Allison, Tera, Christy, Tammy, and Beverly: My favorite group of betas in the world. Thank you for pushing me. And thank you for not hating me for rewrites and having you read a pretty much different story from when you began. You are all the real MVPS.

A big, big thank you to my copy editors, Ellie at Love N Books, and Caitlin at Editing by C. Marie, and Emily at Lawrence Editing. All three of you went to war for me with this book. You’ve watched me break down and still, you smiled and showed up with grace and charm. You went above and beyond with your editing skills. Please don’t ever leave me.

Virginia Alison—the best proofreaders in the world. Thank you for combing through every hair in this book. You both aren’t just super sweet and amazing, you’re also very gifted and I’m so thankful that you shared your time and energy with helping me.

And finally, to my readers: thank you. Without you, I’m just a girl typing to myself. Thank you for trusting me on the crazy journeys I take you on with these books. Thank you for believing in me, encouraging me, and pushing me to keep writing. There were so many days I’ve almost quit, and thankfully I had you all telling me to keep going. You are my lyrics. You are my strength. You are my key. You are my world.

Thank you for existing.

Thank you for being my favorite song.