I want to thank my mom for being ridiculously supportive and understanding in all my endeavors, no matter how insane or far out they might be. The actions of the mothers in this book—namely, Kim and Elora—in no way reflect my experiences with my own mother or my stepmom. Both of them are caring, intelligent, strong women who have always had my back and loved me even when I didn’t deserve it.
I need to thank my platonic lifemate/roommate Eric Goldman for being the only person in the whole world who can tolerate my random but frequent obsessions, the sheer volume of my voice, and the fact that I spend more time with people I make up in my head than with people in the real world.
I can’t forget the rest of the Clique—Fifi, Valerie, Greggor, Pete, Matthew, Bronson, and Baby Gels. You guys are the greatest friends in the whole world. Seriously. I have no idea why you’re friends with me, but I’m grateful for it every day.
The whole writing process I’ve gone through to get here has allowed me to meet other fantastic authors, including the Indie Author Mafia: Daniel Arenson, David Dalglish, David McAfee, Robert Duperre, Sean Sweeney, Mike Crane, and Jason Letts. Not only are these guys awesome writers (and if you haven’t checked out their books, you definitely should), but they are funny, smart, fiercely loyal, and incredibly nice. They’ve definitely helped me keep a saner head in times of insanity. I have to give a shout-out to the rest of my author support team: Stacey Wallace Benefiel and Jeff Bryan, and to everyone over at the Kindleboards.
Last but not least, I have to thank my current writing team. People often ask me if I feel bitterness or resentment toward all the agents who passed on my work before, and to that I say a resounding no. It wasn’t the right time or the right place, and I needed all those no’s to get to the right agent and the right publisher.
From day one, my agent, Steve Axelrod, has been working hard for my books and for me. I daresay he’s the greatest agent on the planet. My new publishers at St. Martin’s Press, namely, my editor, Rose Hilliard, and the SVP Matthew Shear are so tremendous. Rose has believed in me since long before I signed with them.
And finally, I want to thank you for reading this. Without the support of readers like you, I’d just be a dreamer. You’re the ones who make my dreams come true every day.
Originally published by St Martin’s Press, New York, as:
Switched © Amanda Hocking 2010
Torn © Amanda Hocking 2010
Ascend © Amanda Hocking 2011
This revised and updated edition published 2015 by Tor
This electronic edition published 2015 by Tor
an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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ISBN 978-1-4472-8372-0
Copyright © Amanda Hocking 2015
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