Jase traced her bottom lip with his thumb, his heart full to the point of bursting. “I love you.” It came out as a whisper since she’d literally taken his breath away. He would have kissed her again, but Scout chose that moment to call the crowd to order. Fifteen minutes later, he said the words that made Talley his forever, knowing that even without them, he was hers until the end of time.
Coming November 2013...
Fragile Brilliance :
A Shifters & Seers Novel
Acknowledgements
You would think that writing a novella would take half as much effort as writing a novel, but you would be wrong. At least, you would be if you were talking about me. A lot of people came together to help make Jase and Talley’s story happen, and I’m forever indebted to them all. If I leave you off this list, it’s only because you are so esteemed in my mind that I cannot bring myself to soil your name by committing it to paper, and in no way is it because I forgot. Now, if we can all agree to believe that, we’ll live happier lives.
Three people I absolutely cannot forget are Gwen Hayes of Fresh Eyes Critique and Editing Services; Leslie Mitchell of G2 Freelance Editing; and Victoria Faye Alday of Whit & Ware Design Services. These lovely ladies keep me from looking like an idiot, which is a remarkably difficult job. I can’t thank them enough for everything they do. (And if you see any errors on this page, know that it’s because I didn’t let Gwen or Leslie look at it first!)
There is a good chance AWS&S wouldn’t have ever been finished if it hadn’t been for a wonderful writing retreat and the influence of Erin Lowery. Mark your calendar, Erin. MLK Day 2014. We’ve got a date!
AWS&S saw the induction of a new crop of Beta Fish. Samantha, Alecia, and Tessa, welcome to your first acknowledgements page! You and beta vets Rachel, Victoria, Tori, and Kathryn made sure my teen characters don’t read like a bunch of thirty-somethings and helped me remember why I do this. You guys? The absolute best. (((((GROUP HUG!))))
Kathryn gets an extra “thank you” for tackling the oh-so-fun formatting of the digital editions. I do so love having minions!
Alyson, thank you for your encouragement and friendship. I’m not sure if I ever would have had the confidence to do this without your support.
A big thanks to Jennifer Talley for the generous use of her name and giving me a living example of Talley’s goodness.
Thanks to Janet and all the girls (and Adam & Jamie) of UtopYA for giving me a sense of community. I’m glad to know you guys.
Samantha - 1. You are officially my writer BFF. 2. This title cannot be revoked, even with a restraining order, so it’s really useless to try. 3. I encourage you to just go with it. It’s not so bad. We all float down here. *cue creepy music* 4. The fact that you actually understand what is going on in this paragraph is why you’re my BFF.
To everyone on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr... This book almost didn’t exist because of you, but I still like you all anyway.
A gigantic, calorie-filled shout-out has to be given to the Coca-Cola company for making Mello Yello and the good people at Brach’s for their excellent gummy bears. Keep up the good work!
Crystal, Haley, and my mom get the biggest thanks of all for putting up with the crazy schedule, anxiety, and mood swings that come with being a writer. I would love to tell you I’m going to get the hang of this one day, but you would all know I was lying.
And as always, a gigantic thank you to my readers. I still have trouble believing you exist, but even if you’re just figments of my imagination, I adore you all.
About the Author
Tammy Blackwell is a Young Adult Services Coordinator for a public library system in Kentucky. When she’s not reading, writing, cataloging, or talking about YA books, she’s sleeping. You can follow her on Twitter (@Miss_Tammy), write to her at [email protected] or visit her at www.misstammywrites.com.
All We See & Seem (Timber Wolves) Page 11