Most people start off their Oscar acceptance speeches by thanking the little people first – well, there are no little people when it comes to this book. But there is one big person I have to thank first, you know, before the music comes on and I get dragged off the stage: Scott MacKenzie. I love you. Your belief in me and sheer determination to help me succeed is staggering. I’ve never known anyone quite like you – you are the Camden to my Ellie, the love of my life and the one who truly believes my scars, both inside and out, are entirely beautiful. Thank you, thank you, thank you. My life changed the moment you walked into it and I’ve never looked back.
All right, now that the big sappy moment is out of the way, here goes the rest: big thanks to my editor Kara Malinczak for her ruthlessness and support (and her hatred of the word “pillowy” and her disbelief that I actually do hold my breath without realizing it); my proofreader Mollie Caselli who cut her editing teeth on my EIT novels; my Vegas guru and master beta (NOT masterbater…get your heads out of the gutter) Amanda Polito; Emmy Franke for her tattoo-prowess, feedback and epic forum moderation; Rebecca Espinoza and Megan Ward for being beyond awesome and patient with me as I ferried this book back and forth, piece by piece; my insatiable EIT street team of Megan Simpson, Brenna Weidner and Robin Prete who will seriously convince you to read my books (they’re great, I’m just worried they might start clubbing people’s kneecaps soon); Najla Qambar my wonderful cover designer; Jamie Sager Hall for her passion and generosity in trying to get people to read my stuff; Maryse Black for being my private cheerleader when I need it the most (and her hubby, Kevin, too!); author extraordinaires Samantha Young, Nicole Reed, Amber Lynn Natusch, and L.H. Cosway; Book bloggers who make my world go around, including Giselle from Xpresso Reads, Janice from The Demon Librarian, Laura from Little Read Riding Hood; Autumn from The Autumn Review, Kristilyn from Reading in Winter, Ali from Ginger Reads, and many others; My extra-good Goodreaders Fathima, Lucia, Nina, Laura, Kirsten P, Lise and Heidi; Amanda “N” Sanderson for her constant harassment (oh and superb author photos); Wendy and Alan MacKenzie for their tireless support (and having to deal with both me AND Scott); Kelly St-Laurent for her countless pep talks and encouragement; my agent, Scott Waxman, for taking a chance on me and consistently thinking I’m awesome; and my parents for always believing in me (thank you for not being con artists). Oh, and everyone who has taken a chance on me and my little ol’ books. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there and without my readers, I would be nowhere.