Nathan
I can’t imagine how annoying I must have been as a kid, following you around all the time. But you never seemed to mind as I perched on the back of the couch and watched you and your friends play video games for hours (Final Fantasy VII still holds a key place in my heart). My interest in sci-fi and fantasy grew in direct proportion to yours, as I would often steal the books off the shelf in your room after you’d finished them. Without you, I would never have discovered Robert Jordan, Terry Brooks, or Brandon Sanderson (although I claim credit for introducing you to Scott Lynch). It is one of my greater joys to Skype you and geek out over Doctor Who, brainstorm plot options for our various novels, and discuss our mutual love of bacon. I respect and admire you greatly, and miss you like crazy.
Rachel
My entire life, I’ve looked up to you in the best possible way. I took my fashion cues from you (and your hand-me-downs), my love of all things vintage and antique, and my appreciation of beauty even in the midst of disappointment and pain. When I was in high school, you convinced your editor to let me write a guest article for the newspaper, and it was the first time I saw my name in print on a professional publication. This past year, you let me stay in your guest room so that I would have the financial freedom and mental focus to see Velvet through to completion and publication. You are the best big sister I could have asked for: beautiful, intelligent, inspiring, and kind.
Red Twig Cafe Baristas
For keeping me well-supplied in vanilla lattes while I took over the corner of your cafe every week while editing Velvet. For asking me how the book was coming along every time I came in. For sneaking me free coffee. And for having awesome beards. I mean truly, they are fantastic (especially yours, Steven).
Holly West
My dear Holly, I must thank you for a lot of things, beginning with your patience. I had a bizarre list of questions (What are pass pages? What is this squiggle mark on the copyedit? What should I be doing to promote the book?), which you answered promptly, and a bizarre list of fears (What if someone points out something I forgot to answer in the book? WHAT IF EVERYONE HATES IT AND I SUCK AT WRITING?), which you assuaged many, many times. More importantly, thank you not only for helping me craft Velvet into its best form, but for being so darn excited about it. Your enthusiasm was infectious, and it made me believe that perhaps I had a story worth telling after all.
Swoon Reads
When I wrote Velvet, I mostly wrote it on a whim. While I, of course, dreamed about publication, I thought about it in the same way one thinks about what one would do if one won the lottery (say that five times fast). In short, I never really believed it would see the light of day. Thank you for providing a platform where my work could be seen, and thank you for believing in Velvet.
Swoon Reads Readers
I owe a huge debt to everyone who read, reviewed, and rated Velvet while it was a baby manuscript on the Swoon Reads site. Thank you for investing your time in a no-name book from a no-name author, and for providing such great feedback.
Read on for some
Swoonworthy Extras …
A Coffee Date
with author Temple West and her editor, Holly West
“About the Author”
Holly West (HW): Let’s start with my favorite question. You can take a second to think about it. If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be?
Temple West (TW): Oh, I already know that. Flight. I have always wanted to be able to fly. Just Superman-esque. Anywhere. No wings or anything. I don’t want extra appendages, I just want to be able to fly.
HW: You’re stranded on a desert island. Who would you bring for company?
TW: I feel that Johnny Depp would be a really good person to take just because, I mean, after that many Pirates of the Caribbean movies, he’s got to know how to get off an island.
HW: That is very true.
TW: Plus, it’s Johnny Depp. So, the company would not be bad.