that I create.
I can’t believe that it’s almost been a year since I wrote one of these things, acknowledgement, I mean. I never thought it would take me so much time to finish this story but it did. There were times when I thought I probably wouldn’t see the end of it because things were so hectic and my creativity was burned out.
I’m glad I stuck to it though. I’m glad I could see Arrow and Salem and myself grow with every draft I wrote and every revision I made.
Since 2020 has been such a weird year, I didn’t want to do a standard acknowledgment that I’ve always done. The following people deserve more – much more – than a mention. If it hadn’t been for them, I wouldn’t be writing this section at all.
First and foremost, my husband. I always say that he’s the reason I’m doing this. He’s the reason I’m in this industry and that I have stayed so far. If it were up to me, I would’ve quit and moved on. And this book literally wouldn’t be possible without his support.
It was the height of COVID when I was writing this and New York was the epicenter. I was scared and anxious and my juices weren’t flowing at all. But I had a deadline (at least, mentally) and I had to deliver. If it were not for Mr. Kent listening to this story over and over, chapter by chapter, conflict by conflict, I would never have figure out why Arrow was being so difficult. I never would’ve figured out why the hell he doesn’t just kiss her and be done with it. It was him who figured out Arrow’s character for me. Heroines I understand, heroes give me a lot more trouble. And stuck together in our apartment, Mr. Kent was the one who got the brunt of my crazy creativity. So THANK YOU. Thank you for listening to me, for being my sounding board, for helping me figure out why some things in the story were slow and why some things needed to shine more than the others. Thank you for telling me that what I do is magical – even though I always have trouble believing you – and that you love me more because I’m such a tortured artist. Haha! This book is both my baby and yours. I love you more than I can ever say.
The next person I want to thank is a fellow writer and my friend, Bella Love. When I finished the story, I told her that I wanted to scrap it and tell everyone that this story isn’t happening after all. But she told me to send her the manuscript and once she was done, she told me that I was crazy. That Salem was the sweetest bad girl I’d written so far and reading this book was the highlight of her day. Thank you so much for pulling me off the edge. I adore you.
Melissa Panio-Peterson, for being the other half of my brain. It’s spooky how similar we are in our thoughts and how you can read me and what I envision creatively. Thank you for being an expert in all things SAK. After publishing a handful of books, I have realized that one of my biggest concern is always to deliver on my brand, on what readers expect of me and MPP is my SAK brand checker. Haha! Thank you so much for supporting me and believing in me and understanding what I do with my work.
The next on the list are these lovely people that I’ve found through accident and now are a part of my team:
Dani Sanchez of Wildfire Marketing Solutions, thank you for not freaking out on me when I kept telling you that this book won’t be out for a while and when that while turned into almost a year.
Leanne Rabesa, my editor and fact checker, the one who tells me when I’ve fucked seasons up and when I have impossible character ages. Thank you for telling me that Salem’s age was wrong and that Arrow needed to be older than what I’d originally made him.
Najla Qamber, my cover designer, thank you for not ditching me when I kept changing my vision of the cover on you. Thank you for putting those gorgeous lips on the cover. If anyone could do it and portray the sexiness and angst of the book, it was you.
Virginia Tesi Carey, my proofreader, thank you