Sara: Those of you who have read my work know that one of my favorite parts of a book is the acknowledgements. I'm sure M.E. will agree.
M.E.: Yep.
Sara: I don't think we have enough time to thank everyone who supports us, but we want to begin by first thanking the women (and man) who have become a huge part of our lives: The Book Swappers. Not only is this novel dedicated to you, it was written for you—our love for you all, put down on paper, and manifested through Becky and Janine.
M.E.: So if you don't like this book, dear reader...blame them. It's all their fault.
Sara: Exactly. Because let's face it, some of them are assholes
M.E.: She said it! I didn't!!! I think we owe a HUGE shout out to Murphy Rae. Not only did she edit this book, but she put up with you being a Cover Nazi
Sara: I’m going to ignore the fact that you just said that…
M.E.: You usually do.
Sara: But you're right ( you can't bring that up later and use it against me). Murphy is not only our cover artist, but our editor and friend.
M.E: I really owe so much to her. Really. She's just the best. By the same token, we owe a shout out to Kristin Delcambre as well for doing our proofreading. She finds EVERYTHING!
Sara: Not to mention, I could stare into Kristin's dreamy eyes all day. They're hypnotic.
M.E.: HA! You're so weird.
Sara: Someone else I'd like to thank is Christine Kuttnauer, who I've basically forced into a life of Beta and proofreading for me. She didn't choose the Beta life, the Beta life chose her. I truly believe she was born to do something literary, and I want to help her every step of the way
M.E.: You picked a good one with her! We should also thank Megan Kapusta. She's my go-to Beta. She always sees things differently than I ever would and I need that when writing! I don't think I ever told you, but she and I met when we were Beta reading for another author. We would fight all the time about our opposing views. HAHA! It was awesome.
Sara: I don't think people realize how important Beta's and Proofreaders are. They mean everything to us, don't you agree? Input and feedback are...
M.E.: VITAL to the story!! I was so worried this one was funny—to us only! Their feedback kept me calm. I tend to get a little anxious the closer I get to releasing a book. Stacey Grice and AE Woodward are always good at keeping me calm. Amélie White Vahlé gave us an extra set of eyes right before formatting. And all of the above will tell me if something sucks. They’re so honest with me and I really appreciate them for it.
Sara: Honestly, we really wrote this book for us. For them. For our readers, and anyone with a close friend... Quite truthfully (and not to get emotional here) but I have a friend who I haven't spoken to in almost 2 years over something stupid, and when we finished writing FriendTrip the first thing I wanted to do was reach out to her. And tell her... I miss her. People enter your life for a reason. Don't take your friends for granted...
Sara: Crap. Am I getting too sappy?
M.E.: Yep. But I guess we can do the sappy part now. Are you ready for me to get sappy?
Sara: Sooo ready (and it's about damn time, too).
M.E.: Well now you blew it. We'll come back to that. I have one special shout out I have to give. Here goes.... Dad, please stop reading my books. It's making dinnertime conversations creepy. Thank you.
Sara: I love the fact that your dad critiques your books. Just as a special surprise, you need to write in way more sex. Just saying...
M.E.: Gross, no. The first book he read, he actually said, "I think you've been learning some things by standing outside my bedroom door, hehehe." I responded by making genuine gagging noises. Ew. We need to move on from this. Who is next?
Sara: Besides everyone? Gosh. There are so many people we love and respect and laugh with every single day. Every. Day. I'm inspired by so many authors, readers, and friends. Kari George, Kirstin Kanoff, Abby Slaven, and my sister Maddie. Emma. You have been there from the very beginning…
M.E.: Abby really was a great Beta reader. I’m so glad to finally get to know her! And let's not forget the authors that have inspired and literally encouraged us.... Brenda Rothert was the first one to read this book as a draft and really gave us the boost we needed to keep going. Then there's Erin Noelle who just kept messaging with "This is fking hysterical."
Sara: Well, she does love the curse, doesn’t she...?
M.E.: Colleen Hoover said it made her laugh. Penny Reid who wanted to know what was going to happen next. Kathryn Perez who said she enjoyed it even though it’s not a genre she usually likes reading. Wow! I think I just made myself fangirl over all these names!
Sara: Oh my god, I can’t even type right now. My heart rate just sped up times a trillion
M.E.: Pick yourself up off the floor, Sara. This is no time to pass out on me!
Sara: Phew, okay deep breath All better
M.E.: We also need to thank Julie Titus from JT Formatting. She is practically a saint for working with us.
Sara: Actually, anyone who works with us is a saint…
M.E.: Ok, true. But she is REALLY a saint! And she's pretty brilliant, too.
Sara: I've been waiting to work with Julie FOREVER, so this was exciting for me...
M.E.: As long as she is available, she is always my first choice! Also, thank you to my KWBFF Allison for having some really great feedback this time. That first chapter idea really made a huge difference, don't ya think?
Sara: Sure did. I'd like to thank the PBJ’s—you know who you are. My love goes out to both B and K. Our lives are better because you’re in them, and we get strength from your battles every day. The PBJ's love you, always. Through sickness and in health.
M.E.: I have no idea who the PBJ's are and apparently you have way more friends than I do, so... Oh! Jennifer Stiltner and Ana Roldan! Thank you for letting us pretend you are way trashier than you actually are. It was fun turning you into caricatures of yourselves.
Sara: And now we get to the good part… the part where I thank ME for inserting herself in my life, pushing me to improve. Put myself out there. Help me navigate the literary world. Add more smut to my manuscripts... yeah, I said it.
M.E.: I’m so glad I inserted myself into your life. Your daily f-bombs got me through a really rough pregnancy. I love, love, LOVE working with you. This has been the most fun experience for me. You make me a better writer. I’m so deeply grateful to call you my friend and I love you dearly.
Sara: Oh my god, I love you, too! Are we having a moment?
M.E.: You better screenshot that. You know I hate sappy. I’ll never say all that to you again.
Sara: Yes you will.
M.E: We really need to thank the bloggers that have been there for us from the beginning. I wish we had room to name every single one of them. But I will continue to pimp them on my author page!
Sara: Do you know who I love the most? Our readers.
M.E.: The readers!!
Sara: There is no better feeling in the world than creating something that makes people laugh out loud, and feel connected. Should we tell them there's another Becky & Janine book coming out?
M.E.: Wait—are you saying we should tell them the next book is about, oh, I don't know—a certain someone's WEDDING? Sure. We can tell them....
Sara: NO! I didn’t say tell them what it was about, I said—you know what? Forget it.
M.E.: Here’s a quick disclaimer: it hasn’t been edited yet and is subject to change. But don’t forget the release month is February, 2016. So without further ado…here is a sneak preview of FriendTrip: WeddedBliss!