54. Appreciation

Appreciation

FateHollowAcademyisfinished!

Wow. Writing that small line already made tears well up in my eyes. How did we finish Wren and her mates’ journey already? I have loved writing Wren and each one of her mates. Saying goodbye to them is so bitter sweet, but we left them with their chaotic litter of eight little ones and love from family and friends.

But I couldn’t have done this without you, my readers. You made it possible for me to write this story with so much love and motivation. All of your kind words and excitement for each book has motivated me and filled my heart with so much love. Thank you just doesn’t seem like enough, but thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I have a wonderful, supportive team behind me, and I could not publish this book without thanking those who have been beside me during the writing, editing, and proofing processes.

Jacob, my loving husband. Your support and encouragement as I wrote this series while you’ve been deployed has been so appreciated. I know you’re dealing with a lot of stress on your plate, and I notice how you push off your worries to cheer me on with whatever is going on with my writing. I love you with all of my heart, and I am so thankful for you.

Jenni, my kick-ass editor. You are the backbone of my editing process. I love how you catch every little silly error, and I also love that you scold me for using the word ’penis’ or any other words that may make readers cringe! Thank you for helping me polish this book and the books in this series. You came to bat for me when I needed you, and now I’m never letting you go.

My Alpha Readers: Kelly, Sam, Jennifer, you are essential to my writing! I adore each of you and appreciate how much you cheer me on and leave all the fun comments on the alpha documents as I write. Your words spur so much excitement and motivation in me! Plus, you catch my first draft mistakes of crazy typos and any plot holes!

My Beta Readers: Pat, Amy, Rachel, Teeana, Jo, you all catch all the mistakes and plot holes that I don’t catch after my first revision and self-edits, and you are so motivating while doing so. I love how involved you get in the story and all of your suggestions to improve the story!

Sara, you are always the first to cheer me up when I’m down for any reason with writing, and you’ve taught me that taking a small break for self-care (to play Stardew Valley, of course) is okay. I appreciate all of your sweet words and your friendship. I can’t wait for us to write our separate academy books within the same academy shared world together next year! It’s going to be epic!

This has been a wild ride, and I truly hope you were able to fall into Kalista and fall in love with Wren and her mates!