The Accidental Socialite
Page 24
The next morning, once all I owned was back in the two suitcases I came to London with, along with a few extra bags, Carlos and Lucinda helped me move into the gay’s version of the cupboard under the stairs and didn’t complain once.
I sat on my bed in my closet and pulled out the airsick bag I’d written my initial goals on. I’d failed miserably at some but, judging by the list, my first year in London was a success. Turning the bag over, I started to think about what I wanted to do for my second year and started writing.
Things to do in London, Part 2
· Make memories.
There is only one name on the cover, but it is so crazy how many people went into making The Accidental Socialite what you read. This acknowledgement section could have easily been as long as the book. Don’t worry, it’s not. But, you might want to sit down and grab a glass of champagne. These people are awesome and I want to make sure the whole world knows that.
First of all, thank you to Jesse, my boyfriend who not only supported me in every way possible but also saw how I struggled carrying around my huge laptop so got me a smaller one. It saved my shoulders and the book. The biggest thank you ever to Sam Dooey-Miles who made the pact with me to write our books and send each other five pages every Monday. This book would not have existed without your commitment. Thank you for reading the very first work in progress, which made no sense and had a bazillion spelling mistakes. I’m going to be so smug when your book comes out as a best seller and I was the first one to read it.
To my friends back home, thank you so much for laughing at my jokes even when they weren’t funny and listening to all my stories. You know who you are and I miss you. To my London family, you girls are the best and my inspiration. Please keep being amazing. Kassandra and Karin, thank you for being the best South Africans ever. Karin, thank you for ordering a hot dog at McDonalds. Kas, I miss you and champagne in Balans, move back to London please. To Amanda and Mel, thank you for letting me crash at your place when I got off the plane, and then immediately taking me to Nobu. You set the pace.
A MASSIVE thank you to Georgia McBride and Swoon Romance who took a chance on this book even though I kept saying it wasn’t a romance. Your enthusiasm made me believe I could actually be a published author. Mandy Schoen, you are the best editor on the planet. Fact. Your notes were not only spot on, but also hilarious. You took The Accidental Socialite from pretty good to awesome.
Stephanie Thwaites at Curtis Brown and Lyndsay Hemphill at ICM, you guys are super agents! Thank you for answering all of my questions, no matter how inane and making the process of being published seem like the easiest thing ever.
Finally thank you to my family back home: My Mom, Dad, Barry, Bobbi, my baby brother Erick, my even babier sister Ellysa, Samantha, Kim, Shane, Grandma and Grandpa W, Avo, Grandpa C, my aunts, uncles and all my cousins. I know that seems like a lot of people, but they mean everything to me. You let me fly away to have my own adventure and I couldn’t have done it without my roots, which is what you are. I love you and home will always be where you guys live.
Thank you all for reading the book!
Stephanie Wahlstrom
Growing up in Edmonton, Canada, a significant amount of Stephanie’s time was spent making up and acting out stories. She was studying to be an actress when she realized there weren’t any parts for women being written. So, Stephanie wrote herself a short screenplay just to be in it and quickly realized that writing was her true passion.
She graduated from the University of Alberta with an English and Sociology degree and she also has a Bachelor of Motion Picture Arts (that’s a fancy term for Film School) from Red Deer College. After a fateful trip to Mexico in 2006, Stephanie decided to move to New York City to work in film development. A year later she went back home to write My Green House, a factual TV series. Stephanie moved to London in 2008 and aside from being obsessed with Eggs Benedict, Fruit Roll Ups and travelling, she also works in Children’s Television. The Accidental Socialite is her first novel.
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