by Julie Solano
As a follow up to the severe incident that occurred in our first story, The Dead of Winter focused on an issue that is extremely serious and often ignored. It is called Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This disorder is a mental health condition that's triggered by terrifying events. Some people have either experienced or witnessed catastrophes that may cause them to have flashbacks, nightmares and/or severe anxiety. The teen characters in The Dead of Winter lived through such traumatic events and did not receive the attention needed right away. Please do not ignore the symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. Get help if you are having a severe reaction such as nervousness, fear, and even guilt after experiencing a traumatic event. If you believe you are experiencing PTSD, reach out to a professional. They can help you restore a sense of control in your life. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder can happen at any age. You are not alone. Please visit the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (NCPTSD) at http://www.ptsd.va.gov or call (802)296-5132. It is a confidential online resource available to help adults of any age.
So here we are, just seven months after publishing our first novel, and we are finishing book two. What a whirlwind experience! We’ve had a lot of laughs and a lot of tears over the last year, but one thing is for sure, there were several people right there to help us through it. First and foremost, a special thanks goes out to our husbands and children who put up with our late nights, busy weekends, and our overbooked schedules. You guys stayed strong, encouraged us, and still maintained your amazing personalities. The same ones that inspired our characters. Because of your support and belief in us, you made this dream a reality. Thank you for encouraging us to follow our dreams.
We’d also like to send an enormous thank you to our mothers for all of your sweet, encouraging texts and comments that have helped us stay strong, stay brave, and persevere through one of the greatest challenges of our lives. We appreciate you more than you know. Thank you for the reviews, sharing When Fall Breaks with your friends, and never passing up a moment to promote our book. And to our Dads; we thank you for teaching us about country living, blessing us with half of our goofy personalities, our humor, and creativity. Though you’re no longer with us, you inspire us every day to make you proud. We wish you were here to see us reaching for the stars and making our dreams a reality. We miss you!
To our close family and friends who have read our book and given us support along the way, we are so thankful, and blessed to have you in our lives. It’s really tough putting your work out there. We found much of our strength in the conversations we had with you. Just like when we were kids, you were there to protect us and cheer for us, and that is what made us continue with book two. There is one girl that has been like family to us. Our dear Sarah Jankowski, thank you for being such a great friend, heading up our support group on social media, decorating the halls of our middle school, and keeping us motivated through some stressful, tense times.
To our BETA readers, thank you for the time you put into helping us and your valuable input. Jeanne Burcell, Sandy Smith, Macy Smith, and Shanna Schack, we value all your advice and direction. To Marnia, our amazing editor, thank you so much for your keen eye and honest input. This book would not have been the same without you. You mean the world to us.
To our beautiful Jada and Tori, thank you for giving us the inspiration to create Avery. Jessie May, you are right there too. We looked forward to your visits every single day for the past seven months, trying to get us to give up some secrets. We just can’t get enough of you dolls. We don’t even want to think of the day you leave our school. We love you.
To our cover designer Sarah Hansen from Okay Creations, thank you for another spectacular cover design. To our formatter, Stacey Blake from Champagne Formats, we can’t thank you enough for making the interior of our book beautiful. You ladies have created masterpieces with both of our novels. Your designs blend together flawlessly, and we can’t thank you enough for the beauty and magic you continue to produce.
To our promoter Erin Spencer from Southern Belle Book Blog, we are so happy to work with you and your enthusiastic personality. You make us smile. Rosie Snowdon, our beautiful friend from across the pond. We don’t even know where to begin. You’ve been promoting for us from the beginning and we can’t thank you enough. We always look forward to our messages and the times we get to chat with you. We are going to England to meet you one day. That’s on our bucket list. We love you!
To our author and blogger friends, we couldn’t have done this without you. You made this dream a reality, and gave us the wings we needed to fly. Alison G. Bailey, Stacy Hendrickson, Beth Flynn, and ES Carter, we love you to pieces. Even though you are incredibly busy with your own books, fans, and promotions, you always seem to find time for us. Thanks for all your advice, your late night messages, and endless support.
To our amazing bloggers, Rosie, Paula, Tracey, Tammi, Katie, Eli, Darlene, Karen, Tesrin, Christina, Janet, Kelly, Erin, Kylie, Gloria, and everyone else who has shared positive reviews, supportive words, and blessed us with your friendship, we are forever grateful for your continued support and presence in our lives. You have added so much joy to this experience. We can’t thank you enough for putting our book out there.
And finally, we want to send a bucketful of hugs and a huge thank you to our readers, especially those of you who have joined our Did Fall Break You? support group. What would an author be without readers who are willing to invest their time and energy into books? We rely on people like you who are brave enough to reach out and let us know your thoughts. You are the ones who share your enthusiasm with others, find us new readers, and make our dream a reality. We appreciate you taking the time out of your day to send us lovely, touching messages. Thank you for using your talents to write brilliant reviews, make beautiful teasers, and share your passion with others. You inspire and encourage us every single day.
This entire reading world would not be possible without you. We are forever grateful for all of you who endured the snowy cliff and continued on to give The Dead of Winter a chance. We have the best fans in the world. We love you.
Julie Solano has lived in far Northern California, nearly her entire life. She graduated from CSU, Chico, where she majored in Psychology and minored in Child Development. She later went on to Simpson University where she obtained her multiple subject teaching credential. Julie enjoys life in the “State of Jefferson,” where she lives with her husband and two children. As a family, they spend their time tromping around the Marble Mountains and Russian Wilderness. They also take pleasure in rafting, skiing, snowmobiling, off-roading, campfires, and living it up in the great outdoors. When she’s not with her family, Julie spends her days teaching next door to her co-author, fellow prankster, and partner in crime, Tracy. The most recent of their crazy adventures was to take on the challenge of writing this series of novels about what life is like in their neck of the woods.
Born and raised in Northern California, Tracy Justice is a wife, mother, and full-time teacher. She graduated from CSU, Chico, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Arts. One of her fondest memories growing up was herding cattle in the Marble Mountains with her family. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, riding horses, running, hiking, swimming, and of course reading. After some encouragement from Julie, she decided to add “Co-author” to her ever growing bucket list. She never knew how much fun it would be to write a book with her best friend. She hopes you enjoy reading their second book in the “Seasons of Jefferson Series” as much as she enjoyed writing it with Julie.
Julie and Tracy hope you enjoy reading their stories, which were inspired by their small town, rural upbringing, and the personalities of their four children.
Remember to visit Julie and Tracy on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and their Webpage.