Surprisingly there are a lot fewer people to thank when it comes to this book as opposed to False Start. Mostly because I had a hard time sharing this one. This is where the story got personal for me. I kept it close to the vest for a full year before I finally, finally relinquished it into the hands of my editor. And still, that was an excruciatingly difficult moment for me. I sat there with the email in compose mode for at least 12 hours before I walked away and made my soon-to-be-ex-husband push the button for me. And that’s not a joke, I’m not divorcing him because he pushed the button.
So, I at least have to thank him for that. And for the sticking around and funding my first books, and for believing in my talent. But I said all that nice shit in the first book, and really, I’m kind of fucking sick of thanking him at this point. A lot of that comes from a well-earned place for me.
I really do need to thank my editor though, Sandra Depukat of One Love Editing is quite simply, my editing soulmate. She gets me in a way most others have failed. I’m not a delicate flower, you can straight up tell me when something’s wrong, but you got to get the fact that I do have a point, I have a message and a moral to my tales. And when I’m failing to communicate that effectively, Sandra and I would have Q&A chats where she tried to help me pinpoint where I was going wrong.
I mean there were some profound philosophical questions thrown my way, but the fact that she knew that I had an answer for all of them pretty much attached me to her for life. She would laugh and say that she was venturing into “book club territory,” but it helped in the end. I think this book shines because of the extra care and attention to detail it got to make sure the story was told clearly.
Then there’s Cassie Sharp, I really don’t know what I’d do without this woman. She beta reads for me, but she does so much more than that. She’s willing to give another pass to rewrites and additions to see if we cleared up misunderstandings and got the point across. She also puts up with my incessant questions over teasers and cover design, and what the fuck I’m writing in my BoBS and acknowledgments pages. I even ran my dedication page by her to make sure I didn’t sound like a bitter, lonely bitch.
If Sandra is my right hand, then Cassie has quickly become my left. I couldn’t do it without you two. Both of y’all are amazing, and I’m endlessly grateful for all your help, your belief in me and your support.
Also need to thank my other beta readers, Melissa Pascoe and Trisha Haberthur. Trisha, you did an excellent job as always in pointing out my story’s weaknesses. And Melissa, your last minute confirmation that we had indeed fixed the story and suggestions for tiny tweaks were awesome. I can’t thank you both enough for your time and work in helping me get my story told in the right way.
Jenn Wood of All About the Edits, I think you did a fantastic job of finding all the little errors. I don’t think readers realize the potential amount of typos that can exist in a 104k+ word manuscript, combing through that for all the little bits and pieces is an extraordinary task. I think Jenn did an excellent job. But really time will tell because I still don’t see the errors after living with this manuscript for more than a year.
And for the man who didn’t get any credit for working on False Start because, well, I write all this before I give it to him. I really need to thank Erik Gevers. He helped me create not one, but two beautiful book interiors that really highlight the stories themselves. He’s also the last line of defense in proofreading these books and making sure I’m delivering as clean of a book as possible to you. He made some absolutely good catches with False Start and I have no doubt he’ll find a few in this book, too. And he put up with my picky long-listed feedback, patiently regarding my ridiculous demands for cool shit, and consoling my naiveté in thinking some things can be done that are just beyond current technology. He graciously made the changes that were possible and didn’t even get a mention. Well, not this time, buddy. You’re getting acknowledged and thanked for your hard work. I really do appreciate your skill, your knowledge, and your ability to put up with me.
Thank you again Regina Wamba for yet another amazing cover design. It took us more than a few tries to get this one right, but I couldn’t be happier with the results. You truly do exceed my expectations every time. It’s amazing to me how you nail the vision I had for each book with very limited instructions. Your work is truly astounding.
And a very special thanks to poet Michael E. Reid for the use of his poem Dear Woman as an Epigraph to this novel. I talked a bit about how it inspired me both personally and in the writing of this duet in the BoBS. It was so very kind of him to allow me to publish his work in my book. I hope his message reaches my readers who need to hear it, too, the way it did for me.