by KD Robichaux
Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to write fairy tales. I got my love of reading from my mom, Ava, and then it just exploded in the fifth grade thanks to my favorite teacher, Mr. Watson, who would read to us every day after lunch. Thanks, you two, for teaching me I can go anywhere I want, even while just sitting still.
Jason, my soulmate, my husband, my best friend, my lover, the father of my children, my everything: Right now, you have a lot of people really wanting to do you bodily harm, but I’ve tried to make it perfectly clear that I got my Happily Ever After; they just have to read to see the long, sometimes torturous journey it took for us to get here. God put us on this Earth to be together forever. We know that for a fact now. Thank you for supporting me no matter what, and for even being my hottie cover model. I love you more than coffee.
Speaking of coffee: Dunn Bros. If you know me at all, you know that Dunn Bros Coffee in Friendswood, Texas is my little Heaven on Earth. It is owned by a marvelous woman named Benette, who is so kind and generous that it makes you want to scream at the top of your lungs how great she is. Thank you, Benette, along with Houston, Austin, Nam, Andrew, Amanda, Shawna, Stephanie, and Dusty, for keeping me caffeinated and fed, and for giving me a place that makes me feel like I’m being hugged as soon as I walk in the door. This book would not have been written without your haven.
As I was sitting at Erin Noelle’s table—my Twinnie—at a signing in Houston while she had gone to do her infamous cartwheels, a woman came up to me and started raving about how much she loved my work. I quickly corrected her, telling her I wasn’t Erin, and that we get it all the time that we look like sisters. But she told me, “Oh, no, I know who you are. You are Kayla the Bibliophile. We aren’t friends on Facebook, but since we have mutual friends, when one of them commented on a post you had made of just one paragraph of your book you were in the process of writing, I made a mental note to keep an eye out for it.”
Now, at this time, I had literally written seventeen pages. I had recently gotten my editing job with Hot Tree and had put my book on the backburner. When I told her this, she said to me, “I know you don’t know me, but just from that one paragraph, I have to read this book. Please, pick it back up and finish writing it. Even if it takes forever, please, you gotta write that book.” If it weren’t for this epic, shocking, heart-stuttering moment, this would have never happened. My friend will never know how much that short conversation meant to me. The next day, I opened my document for the first time in six months and I busted out 3,000 words, and through Facebook and desperation, I found Kylie Sharp, letting her know I was writing again, all thanks to her.
Then there are the women who have been rooting me on since I got that initial kick-start:
First, there was Anni, who lived through these “stories” with me. I’m sure a part of the reason she wanted me to write it was because she’d get her own character in a book, but I know the true reason was because she knew I had to fulfill my dream in life of becoming an author. No one has been here longer than you, woman, and I love you like the sister I never had. You make me be brave.
Second, there was Crystal Reynolds. As I was editing her book, Until Trevor, our first time working together, we made an immediate connection, saying we each got one half of the same brain. If the voices in her head weren’t talking to her, they were talking to me. We work magic together. When I told her Jason and my story and how I was trying to write it as a romance novel, she told me to go for it. “Just put your fingers to the keys,” she’d tell me. “Even if it’s just for one hour a day, keep writing.” Took me forever, girl, but I finally did it.
Next, there were my besties, Jamie Vest, Sara Ferguson, Danielle Jamie, and even Kristin Williams, who isn’t really a big reader, but has read my entire book, because she knows everyone in it. Y’all kept encouraging me, motivating me, telling me to keep on going. Of course there have been some “Ewwww!” moments, seeing how y’all are friends with Jason and I wrote explicit love scenes, but you never stopped rooting for me.
Then there’s JC Cliff. Even thinking the woman’s name makes me go all mushy and emotional. I have never met a person so willing to do absolutely ANYTHING for me than you.
Let me tell y’all a little fun fact. My cousin Mary (love her to DEATH) is a huge reader of romance, and her best friend had written a book and was looking for an editor. Knowing that’s what I do, Mary referred her to me. JC can be a tough cookie. Sometimes, self-admittedly, she comes off as more than a little blunt. She knows what she wants, and she won’t settle for anything less. Me, being happy-go-lucky, goofball Kayla, you wouldn’t think we’d get along very well. On the contrary, we balance each other perfectly. Even though she doesn’t get my reference, I call her the Meredith to my Cristina. We are a match made by fate, and I know we will always be loyal friends who work together to make phenomenal things happen.
Thank you for teaching me this side of things. No complaints, no brush-offs, no nothing. When I need you, you are there, no questions asked. And thank you for formatting my book! I love you so much!
There is a woman in this book world who doesn’t even need a second name. Someone says Kathryn, and you know exactly who they’re talking about. But just in case, she’s Kathryn Falk, founder and owner of Romantic Times Magazine, aka RT Book Reviews. She’s the Queen of Romance, and the most fascinating person on the planet. She plans to live to be 120 years old, and I pray she succeeds, because now that I have her in my life, I never want to think about her ever not being in it. Working for and with her has been an experience I never want to end.
Instead of encouraging me the way my friends were, you issued me a challenge. You told me, “Write your book, Kayla, and you’ll sign at RT.” It’s every author’s dream to sign at RT Booklover’s Convention. You knew what it would take to kick my butt into gear, and now look! You have a mind like no one I’ve ever met before, and I could sit and listen to your stories for hours. You could take the most skeptical person in the entire world, have one conversation with them about Mercury in its retrograde, and make a believer out of them. I sure do now! I’ve already learned so much from you, and I can’t wait to see what else that endless knowledge of yours will teach me!
My League of Extraordinary Writers, almost named “The HAGs” (Houston Authors Guild, hehe!) Erin Noelle, TK Rapp, Sierra Cartwright, and Kathryn Falk, we make quite a team. I’m so glad I have such an amazing group of women to see in person, who are as passionate about our book world as I am. Our Readers and Writers RoundUp is going to be epic.
Heather Lane, another fated friend. Five years ago, I went to college with her sister in law, and seeing we were mutual friends, Heather fangirled out on me, being a loyal follower of my blog page. She was even too nervous to contact me, making Tina, her SIL, introduce us! We have gotten so close over such a short amount of time it’s insane. Thank you for blowing up my texts, FaceTime, and messenger, (but not the phone calls; you know I hate that shit hehe!), riding my ass about finishing this book. You are the one person who messaged me every single day, asking for more words. You NEEDED more words. And to get more words, you took stress off me by helping Sassy Sara and I keep up with my blog so I could write.
And then you made my book trailer.
I still cry nearly every time I watch it. I’ve been told that’s normal for any author, but since this is my real story, my TRUE, honest-to-God story of my real life, seeing it played out like that is otherworldly. If anyone needs a book trailer, you contact Heather at Book Obsession Production. I swear on Jared Leto you will NOT be disappointed.
KD’s Betas. OMG, girls. Y’all are freaking awesome. I pray I name everyone, so here goes nothing: Jennifer, Toski, Chrissy, Stacia, Kali, Danielle, Mandy, Lisa, Theresa, Rhonda, ML, Vanessa, Hayley, Celena, Amy, Racheal, Vanessa, Carrie, Kolleen, Teri, Jill, Carol, Kim, Kristen, Joya, and Jordan. If I’ve left someone out, I’m so sorry. I’ve gone through every email and message in our group and I think I’ve got all of you!
Becky
Johnson. What can I say? I was a blogger who you met by word of mouth, and then you gave me my dream job. You’re the best boss in the world. Literally, the world, seeing how you live on the other side of it…in Australia of all places. What would I do without you? Thank you for editing my book and making me feel like it’s going to be something special. Your pride in me really means a lot, and I cannot wait to squeeze you in October.
Jamie’s Uncle Arthur: You’re, like, my biggest fan. You’re so adorable in your fandom. I REALLY don’t want you to read my book, and you sorta promised you wouldn’t, but thank you for rooting me on to realize my dream itself. Anyone would be lucky to have you on their side!
Thank you, Zar, Erin Noelle’s hubby, for playing “the other man” on my cover. I could tell you really didn’t want to do it, but you’re a fantastic friend who gave in anyways. Now, I have the best looking cover on the planet!
Thank you, Mike Fox, my photographer extraordinaire in Pearland, Texas. You…you are the best, not only for your beautiful work, but for your humor, you brilliant ideas, and for a certain referral I will appreciate for the rest of my life. All of my photos you do are fantastic, but what you captured for the cover of my book is perfection. And you’re wife, Angi, is pretty damn cool too.
For all my author, blogger, and reader friends who have supported me along the way, thank you. Your likes, comments, shares, and retweets are more than this girl could ever ask for.
Saving the best for last: my daughters, Josalyn and Avary, thank you for still loving me, even when I needed to work. Thank you for making me feel like I’m still a good Mommy, even though a lot of times you have to eat quicky meals for dinner and the house is a wreck. You never fail to want to give me love, kisses, draw me beautiful artwork, or tell me “crazy” stuff, even when I look like I’ve crawled out of a cave. I hope, instead of thinking I was busy too much of the time, you look back and take from this to fulfill your dreams. Whatever you want to do, just do it. Finish it. Work hard until you get it done. You and Daddy are my number 1, but I pray that one day, you will see too that you can have it all.
About the Author
KD Robichaux wanted to be a romance author since the first time she picked up her mom’s Sandra Brown books at the ripe old age of twelve. She went to college to become a writer, but then married and had babies. Putting her dream job on hold to raise her family as a stay at home mom, who read entirely too much, she created a blog where she could keep her family and friends up-to-date on all the hottest reads. From there, by word of mouth, her blog took off and she began using her hard-earned degree as a Senior Editor for Hot Tree Editing. When her kids started school, and with the encouragement from her many author friends, she finally sat down and started working on her first series, The Blogger Diaries, her very own real life romance.