Beth Hanninen-Mulvena has been one of my best friends for many years and my unofficial “editor-in-chief” since I wrote Taken six years ago. She knows exactly what I’m looking for—and what I’m not—and puts up with me taking over her writing time to edit my stuff. May we collaborate on many more projects to come.
I want to say thanks to Ryanne Griffith for not only giving this story a first look, but for helping me out with some of the medical terminology I used. I’m a person of many professions, but medicine is not one of them. Thanks for taking the time to make sure I didn’t kill anyone with powdered sugar or give poor Evan a heart attack when I wanted him in shock.
On a personal level, I’d like to thank Patricia Betti for being supportive as always and Stephanie Nicol for making sure I don’t lead our students down the wrong path, and for being a wonderful friend and sounding board.
Last but not least, the world of Otter Lake is based, in part, on real places. In particular, the school, OLBC, is based on a wonderful transitional school in Michigan called the Transitions Center. Like OLBC, this school services young adults with various disabilities and helps them prepare for both the working world and independent living. I have the good fortune to be able to work with the students and staff at this school every day, and without them none of these wonderful characters would have ever come into being. Thank you for broadening my horizons and making it a joy to go to my day job every morning.
Corie L. Calcutt, 2016
In the House On Lakeside Drive Page 26