Nash

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First I gotta give all the love to the two tiny blondes that rule my writing world, Stacey Donaghy of the Donaghy Literary Group, who is my fearless agent, and Amanda Bergeron, my brilliant editor from HarperCollins. They are both equally important for bringing these Marked Men into the world and I honestly don’t know what my life would look like without either one of them. I adore that they just let me do my thing (with the proper amount of reining in) and that the end result is always so much better than I imagined. I am truly blessed to get to work with women that I genuinely like, respect, and admire.

The other person key to my writing world is my book bestie. Oh, you can call her what you want, I always say she is a woman of many talents and many names. To me she is a sounding board, a friend, a fellow book lover, and for Nash’s story not only is the inspiration for one of the characters, she was also my medical guru, my Nursey-No-Mercy. Thanks, Mel, for always being there, for offering your knowledge and support, and for generously giving me punctuation and feedback in every first draft I write. Thanks for being an awesome critique partner and just all-around an awesome friend. I love you and your giant brain so hard.

I never had too many complaints about running a bar. It was a really fun job. I got to meet cool and interesting people. I got to play with booze all day. Beer delivery guys are pretty cute and have big muscles, and I always got to stay up late and never had to get up early. That being said, this new job I have kicks that job’s butt, and the people I’ve been fortunate enough to meet in the last year … well, I can’t tell you how exciting and interesting it has been. From fellow authors, publishing professionals, to bloggers, to readers, to event organizers, to the people I have Internet-befriended along the way. Book people are the best. End of story. Thank you all for making the last year a blast, and I gotta thank Sophie Jordan, Jennifer Armentrout, Cora Carmack, and Lisa Desrochers for showing the new girl the ropes and making me feel welcome. I love hanging out with these ladies and it’s always a good time when we get in the same room.

Of course, my folks always need to get a shout out because they are awesome and there are none better. Did you know my dad is coming to my European signings with me this year? If you see a guy walking around that has a cowboy mustache and probably something with a Dodge logo on it, that’s him. Buy him a beer or a shot of Jack and tell him thanks for being the base inspiration for all these hot guys swimming around in my head. My mom is wonderful. She’s not only my biggest fan but my closest confidante. I just love her to pieces and I’m grateful that with all the opportunities I’ve had come my way, I get to experience so many of them with her. She likes red wine and has lots and lots of blond hair if you want to buy her a drink instead.

I can’t write a story about loving yourself, about knowing you are fabulous just the way you are, and not throw out a thank-you to my bestie. She’s amazing at this. Really understands the importance of it, and the journey she had to take in order to remember how wonderful and amazing she really is was heartbreaking. But she got back to where she needed to be and I couldn’t be prouder or more stoked for her. She is always the strongest, most beautiful person I know inside and out. I just LOVE Settie Phillips to a million pieces. I am so very lucky I get the honor of having her as my best friend.

And always my most important, most heartfelt and overwhelming amount of thanks goes out to you … the reader. OMG, where would I be without you guys? I will always be taken aback, dumbfounded, and completely humbled when I get an e-mail saying something I wrote is their favorite book, or that they related to what the characters are going through, or that they appreciate how “real” my storytelling is. I never really thought past hitting publish on Rule, so now that we are four books in, I really can’t tell you how much value and wonder all of you have brought into my life. I think of each and every single reader as a gift, as a compatriot, as a fellow book lover, and as a friend. Thank you so very much from the bottom of my tattooed heart.

The above goes for all you amazing and dedicated bloggers out there. Thank you for the support. Thank you for being invested in this world I have created. Thank you for spreading the word and taking the time and effort to write reviews and give valuable space and time on your blogs to me and the boys. Thank you for all that you do!!

Finally, I have to tell you how much I love the girls at http://literatiauthorservices.com/. Karen, Michelle, and Rosette have made my now hectic and busy life far more manageable. They are organized and efficient, but mostly they are delightful and wonderful ladies. They know it all, the business end, the blogging end, the reading end, and the promotional end. I wouldn’t just trust my boys in the hands of anyone, and I tell them all the time working with them is the best decision I ever made!! If you need marketing or promotional help, look them up, you won’t be sorry you did it.

I love my dogs. That is all.