To all the people who have stuck by me and supported me as I spent most of a year freaking out about how this book was doing its best to kill me by way of a nervous breakdown: thank you. I could not have done this without my cheering sections, all the people who kept telling me not to get discouraged, everyone who listened to me panic and complain and just generally lose my mind.
To JoVon, who bought the book when it was nothing more than a very different synopsis, and Jessica, who absolutely believes in it, and Caitlin, who deserves a freaking medal for our edit process. Caitlin, you have a gift for making the impossible seem manageable, and your calm confidence definitely pulled me through. Agent Sandy, for finding a home for the Butterflies that opened its doors to more of the story.
Isabel, Maire, Kelie, Roni, Pam, Allyson, because there wasn’t a single part of the process you didn’t hear about and yet you’re somehow still my friends. A massive thank you to my family for being so excited about every milestone and success, and understanding when I spent Thanksgiving staring at edits. Everyone at Crossroads, for talking up The Butterfly Garden and celebrating with me whenever we had to order more into the store (and for never telling me to shut up when I couldn’t stop talking about how much everything was stressing me out).
You know, I’m sensing a theme here.
And to everyone who’s read and loved The Butterfly Garden, everyone who’s shared a review or talked about it online, everyone who’s picked it for book club or pushed it on friends, thank you. Thank you for your enthusiasm, for your support, and for staying with me this far.