Never doubt that the most important thing to authors is their readers. We want to thrill you. We want you to fall in love. We want to surprise you. We want to shock you. We want to make you angry. We want you to be blown away. We want you to stick with us while we try something new. But more than any of those things, we want to thank you for giving us a platform from which to let these stories shine.
So thank you and a million different thanks for a million different things.
The same goes for the bloggers who have had a hand in getting the boys out into the world. I appreciate those of you who have followed my career—through this series and, more importantly, beyond it. I know that being a blogger can be thankless, but please know that I am thankful for your support and promotion every step of the way. Hell, if it wasn’t for bloggers, I wouldn’t have had Karen, Michelle, and Rosette to help me navigate my first blog tour or promotional blitz. I wouldn’t have had Denise to tell me, “Hey, you need to make a Facebook and a Twitter.” I wouldn’t have had Mel around to say, “You need a fan page and I’ll help you run it,” or Mich in all her Kiwi glory to be like “You’re gonna be a star and I want to interview you even if no one knows who you are,” and Lisa being all “Let’s do a character interview—oh, you don’t know what that is, I’ll walk you through it.” Plus, most of the events I come out to see you guys at are spearheaded by passionate bloggers. You are all so important to sharing the love of books with the world that I can’t stress my gratitude for what you do enough. I always say I won’t name-drop because I value all the bloggers who have been there for me along the way equally. But for those of you who have been on board from day one … I especially thank you for believing in me and having faith in me being more than a flash in the pan. It matters so much to me.
Getting Asa wrapped up took a lot of work. He was a complicated guy with a difficult past, and getting him to a place where he understood that he deserved not only love but to be a better man took work. He really undid me and I wanted to make sure that he not only got the story he deserved but so did the rest of the gang. I absolutely couldn’t have gotten him there without Vilma Gonzales (my book spirit animal) and Denise Tung (my story sensei). I needed both of them to make this the best story possible and guide me in the right direction when I was lost. Reaching the end of this series gives me goose bumps. Instead of feeling sad that it’s over, I feel like I really did what needed to be done to have everyone be where they were supposed to be. Now all I am is excited to move on to the next thing. I’ve made many an important, valuable, interesting, and wonderful book friend along this journey. These two ladies rank at the top of that list. I have all the love in the world—and then more—for both of them.
I also wouldn’t have nearly as much fun or be as connected to my reader base as I am without Melissa Shank. Man, is she just good people through and through. She manages my life when I can’t do it, and she really is the bridge that makes it easy to travel out there and touch base with the people that it matters most to connect with … my readers. She works really hard to keep the minute details fun, and whenever I ask her to take on a task, I just assume it’s handled and I think that’s so rare to find in people these days. I’m grateful every day that she ended up in my corner. If you want to connect with me and my peeps … I’m talking the peeps that love all things Jay, please come on over and join the Crowd … we have a good time and always encourage everyone to play well with others.
www.facebook.com/groups/crownoverscrowd/
Since it’s the end and I always go on and on about my usual suspects: my mom and dad; my Gma, who has read ALL my books and keeps them on a shelf, which just makes my heart happy; Mike, who manages all my heavy lifting for me (I never knew how important that was until I got divorced!); and my dogs … I feel like I can just sum it up and say no one is as lucky as I am. I have wonderful people in my life. I’m truly blessed to be surrounded by love and support on a daily basis. I would never ask for more and I will never accept less than all the wonderful things they have to give.
I do need to say that the idea of living in the moment, of being present and awake for all the wonderful things happening right now, is a constant battle I wage. Every single release day this struggle sends me into a tailspin, but I’m determined this time around to take the lessons this book is about and apply them to my actual life. I’m not only in the arena, I’m also in the moment.
Now on to business … oh yes, putting out a book is very much work and very much a business, so don’t let anyone ever try and tell you otherwise.
I’ve been so fortunate that all the people that I work with in a professional and creative capacity are really wonderful … I mean really.
My editor, Amanda, is feisty and sweet. She only wants the best book possible to get into your hands, and she works really hard to make sure that happens. She hasn’t ever tried to change what I do and I value her so much for that. With my books, what you see is what you get, just refined enough to make for an easier and more satisfying read. Amanda has also been willing to let me do different things and push boundaries, and has embraced all my crazy … hell, half the time she encourages it. I really feel lucky she is the one that opened the door for me to be able to tell my stories my way, and hearing her feedback as we work together has not only made me a better writer but a better person along the way.