There is an army of women behind the scenes at a big publishing house that works tirelessly to bring romance and books in general out into the wild. When I was younger I could only dream of a job like that, so to see the girls that do it and do it so well really makes my soul happy.
Jessie and Alaina really do an excellent job not only of managing the business of Jay but also of managing Jay. I’m not always the easiest person in the world to navigate around, but they do it flawlessly and they make the business part of what I do fun. Even though publishing is a business and sales and numbers really do matter, all of the team at HarperCollins make me feel like it’s just as much about me. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I ended up in the place I was supposed to be and now I can’t imagine being anywhere else.
So thanks, ladies, for giving me this opportunity and working as hard as you do.
KP … oh, where do I start to sing the praises of this lady and her tireless dedication to her clients? She’s amazing. The end! Seriously, I loved her before I needed her, but now I love her even more. My admiration for this woman borders on obsessive and I tell her all the time she better hold a spot on the InkSlinger team because if this writing thing doesn’t pan out I’m going to work for her. I’m so honored to be part of the InkSlinger roster of talented and groundbreaking authors … know it!
Somehow I’ve ended up with this ridiculously cool group of people in Texas I get to call my homies. They are funny, kind, and all of them have hearts as big as the state they live in. So this is my special shout-out to the Lone Star peeps that always make me smile: Heather and Brad Self, Stephanie Higgins, KP Simmon, Vilma Gonzales, the entire Shank family (Jake is the best books husband in the land and Lizzy gives me hope for the future), Danielle Sanchez, Yesi Cavazos and Trini Contreras and Damaris Cardinali (okay, Damaris is an East Coast girl, but I always think of her and Trini hand in hand, so she ends up here :-)).
Okay, so this a big one … a major one … the person who deserves more thanks than I can even begin to try to explain and that’s my agent, Stacey. She is all the things. She’s my support system. My business partner. My priest. My mom. My fashion consultant. My cheerleader. My voice of reason. My sparring partner. She plays so many roles really that I can’t thank her or give her enough credit for all the ways she helps me out in my life and my career. I owe my having more books beyond Rule and even more series beyond the Marked Men to her. She believed in the boys when others were all “That girl can’t spell and I don’t think she’s ever seen a comma.” She always had more belief in me than anyone else and she has never wavered in her assertion that I am supposed to be writing books for a living. She always tells me she’s a fan first and my agent second. I’m her fan first and her client second. I owe pretty much every great opportunity that has come my way since all of this started to Stacey and I don’t think there will ever be enough time or words to thank her for that.
So here we are at the end of what really has been an epic journey. I’ve loved every second of it, even the seconds I hated. I’m really looking at things as if one door has closed and now I’m hurtling myself out an open window and just seeing where I’ll land. I have so many fun ideas that I really, really hope you guys want to jump with me.
As always I’m easy to find if you want to holler at me and have me holler back:
? www.facebook.com/jay.crownover
? www.facebook.com/?AuthorJayCrownover
? @jaycrownover
? www.jaycrownover.com
? http://jaycrownover.blogspot.com/
? www.goodreads.com/Crownover
? www.donaghyliterary.com/jaycrownover.html
Thank you for everything.
Love & Ink
Jay
READ ON FOR MORE FROM JAY COWNOVER
Look out Jay’s new series: The Saints of Denver! Starting with Built: Sayer & Zeb, here’s a word from Jay herself on her new books: While the Marked Men series has come to a close, I do hope you’ll continue on the journey with me into the new spin-off series. The Saints of Denver will be based on many of the secondary characters we have grown to care about and love throughout the Marked Men’s journey. (And maybe some that we don’t like as much because I can’t ever do things the easy way!) The new series takes place in the same world as the Marked Men, so I’m sure some of our favorites will be popping up every now and again. I’m so unbelievably excited to start this new adventure with this new crew of interesting, amazing, and definitely unique men and women … It all begins with Sayer and Zeb’s story … talk about opposites attracting!
Out October 2015.
Click here to pre-order now 978-0-00811624-8
Did you fall in love with Asa and Royal? Want to go back to where it all started? Then keep reading…
Opposites don’t just attract…They catch fire and burn the city down
Click here to buy now or turn the page to read an extract 978-0-00753628-3
CHAPTER 1
Rule
At first I thought the pounding in my head was my brain trying to fight its way out of my skull after the ten or so shots of Crown Royal I had downed last night, but then I realized the noise was someone storming around in my apartment. She was here, and with dread I remembered that it was Sunday. No matter how many times I told her, or how rude I was to her, or whatever kind of debauched and unsavory condition she found me in, she showed up every Sunday morning to drag me home for brunch.