Cameron, thank you for supporting my dreams and reading my books. (I think they’ve helped turn you into a YA fan!) You’re the best partner for bouncing ideas off of, and you make so many of my days much more fun and enriching. I love you.
Thank you, Mom, for encouraging me to pursue my passions and talents, and for first instilling in me the love of reading and writing. I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to put so much into my fiction writing without your love and support. Thanks, too, to Sara for always getting excited over my writing news and sharing my love for YA fiction—I read, you “listen,” but we both love the same stories. A little sister has a best friend from the day she’s born when she has an awesome and supportive sister like you. Thank you, Anthony, for sharing Sara’s enthusiasm for my writing news and for showing a lot of interest in the book. I hope you both enjoy it!
Thank you to the rest of my friends, my extended family, and Cameron’s family and friends, who got so excited over all of my book news that I was reminded just what a big deal it is to have worked for so many years to get to this point. I’m so glad you can now finally all read it. A special thank you to long-time friends Dawn Huestis, Nancy Hunter, and Dr. Andrea Scherer and her husband Joseph SK Chang, my “gamma” readers who read a draft midway through the process to offer their insight; I really needed some fresh pairs of eyes at that point, and your suggestions helped me work out the kinks and decide what needed to be scrapped.
Thank you to all of my teachers and professors at Prairie and Carthage, particularly those who took a special interest in my writing and encouraged me to develop my writing skills and pursue the field as an adult. You made a difference in this student’s life, and countless others’.
Thank you for reading!