Many personal challenges kicked me around this year, culminating with the heartbreaking death of my mother, Debbie, on Thanksgiving night. I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every person who, in whatever way, helped my family deal with this tragedy, from those who gave their support and love to those who made sure my baby boy had a wonderful Christmas. Both old and new friends helped ease my heart during the toughest crisis of my life. Sorry there’s not room to list you all by name, but just know that you are all appreciated so much more than I can express. Thank you! Thanks again to my ever-patient editor, Jessica Wade, and everyone at Ace who was so understanding as I dealt with all the trauma this year; to my awesome rock star of an agent, Ginger Clark, who never doubted I could get this book done; to my amazing cover artist, Judy York, and Ace’s fantastic art department, who all amaze me more with each book; and to the enthusiastic readers, librarians, and booksellers who have connected with this series and make what I do possible. Last but not least, thanks to my beloved family: my loving husband, Shawn, who has more faith in me than I could ever have in myself; my adorable son, Zack, who is the sweetest and best baby boy a mother could ever have; my stepfather, Larry, who loved my mother so much and whom we love for that and many other reasons; my baby sister, Kelsey, who has become such an amazing mother and dealt with so much the past few months with grace and love; my brothers, Dustin and Chris, whom I may not always see eye to eye with but love tremendously; my future brother-in-law, Scott, who is an amazing man; my new nephews and niece, who gave us all reasons to smile even in the darkest of days; my grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and in-laws, who pulled together to help us deal with Mom’s passing; and my best friend, Julie, who is just as much of a sister to me as my biological sister.
