by Mia Kayla
To all the beta readers after that—Jade, Cynthia, Sue and Teri—Thank you for your constructive feedback and your second glances that helped me get this story out to the world.
To Kerianne, Jennifer, Joy and Amanda—Thank you for giving this manuscript one last look before it went to copyediting and formatting.
The writing community is such a welcoming and helpful community.
To all the online communities that I’ve stalked for knowledge and to the Divas and Divos on RD—It’s because of you that I’ve met some wonderful people—one being, Sera Bright. Even though every writer’s journey is his or her own, it’s great to have someone who is going through a similar process at the same time, someone to vent and to bond over the same struggles.
I cannot forget the bloggers. Bloggers are the key to readership, and these bloggers have helped me dearly.
To the people I’ve coined as the Awesome As—Autumn from The Autumn Review and Andrea from The Bookish Babes—Where do I even begin? Thanks for helping me through the whole promoting process, for answering all my questions, and for pimping out my book. Autumn, thanks for reading my story and giving me the feedback needed to take it to the next step. Seriously, both of you have been the greatest.
To my editing team, I stand and applaud you. Because of you, my manuscript is polished and ready for the world to see. Jovana, you are truly a rock star at what you do! You don’t miss a single thing with your supersonic eyes. Thank you for having patience with me and for answering every single one of my questions.
To Kayla Robichaux, I thank you. The first time I ever corresponded with Kayla on Facebook, I was freaking out on the train. True story. She added me as a friend, and I totally went crazy writer on her. I think I was suffering my first ever panic attack about the whole book thing. All my friends were nowhere to be found, and my husband was busy with the kids.
I believe the first thing she wrote was, Team Kent.
I responded with, OMG, I’m freaking out here. Did you read it? Is the story okay?
She calmly said, I want you to take your earlobes and rub them.
Even though I was on the train, I did. Ha! I think because it was such a silly move, I ended up laughing. Anyway, thanks, Kayla, for your kind words that day because I needed that boost of confidence at that exact moment to keep me going.
To all you readers, just so you know, Kent and Beth’s love scene at the end was not originally in my first version. I added it because Kayla specifically said, You’re leaving your readers hanging. Trust me on this one.
And I did.
I cannot forget Becky Johnson and her flipping awesome team at Hottree Editing. Thanks for all you do. Your team rocks to the utmost degree. You’re just so sweet and thorough. Your team doesn’t miss a thing. I think you’re one of the very few editors who sends the manuscript for post-beta reads, and let me tell you, I needed those post-beta readers.
Only a writer would be able to understand the insecurities and struggles of the journey of writing. There are very few people in the world who I believe have the kindest of hearts—someone who’s not friends with you to get something in return, but someone who wants to help you because she was on a similar journey.
Elisabeth Grace, I heart you in the biggest way. Your books are amazing, but even more than that, you’re an amazing person. I hope all good things in life happen to you because I truly believe that good things happen to good people. Just your kind words and your willingness to answer all my many questions are amazing. You’re just a great person, who is continuously giving back to this writing community. Thanks for introducing me to the Indie Chicks. You’ve introduced me to a great group of girls, and for that, I am forever grateful.
I have a great support system behind me. Women bond with other women on a level that men will never understand. Although I have my husband—who is a real Mr. Mom, my rock, and my best friend—he just can’t empathize with my womanly issues.
To Nui—Thank you for being the very first one of my friends to read this. Thanks for your feedback, and most of all, thank you for your support. I can always count on you and your positive outlook on every situation. You are the friend who understands my love for food, and I have brought some of that into Beth’s story. I can always count on you to help me search for the best brownie ice cream sundae and then be the one to initiate a diet the next day. Ha! I love you, girl.
To Debbie—Words can’t explain how much I owe you. I know I’m an askhole most of the time, but you should know your advice on business and on life are very important to me. You’re a whiz on branding and social media, and I value your advice. Thank you for reading my manuscript, for your feedback, and most of all, for your friendship. I love you in ways no words can express, and I hope to grow very old with you, so we can party like rock stars way into our sixties when our kids are off on their own.
To Melanie—Thanks for your feedback and for reading my book. As I continue on this writing journey, I know you’ll be my number one fan. You make me laugh so hard that I’m almost to the point of peeing in my pants as a grown adult. You’re the greatest, Mel. Not only are you one of my BFFs, but you are also my BBF (best book friend). You’re the friend who took me to Forks to see where Twilight began, and I will never forget that trip—ever. I love how we bond over books and over the hot human men who play our fictional characters on the big screen. My heart will forever belong to Edward Cullen, but today, I’m a Four whore.
And to my husband—I love him, I love him, I love him. He is the epitome of every book boyfriend but in real life. He’s my muse when it comes to the sweet stories I write about. This is the man who apologizes by spelling Sorry with Kit Kats. He came in and swooped me up, capturing my heart when my heart had been left broken. He’s been there ever since, giving me three lovely children and a life truly full of happily ever afters.
I do believe everything happens for a reason. You meet people, and they enter your life at a certain time. When my husband entered mine, I was crying about another man.
He said, “What does he have that I can’t give you?”
And the rest is history.
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www.authormiakayla.com