Acknowledgements

A page from DTR:

Acknowledgements

            There is a huge team behind this book.  You know what they say, it takes a village to…write a book?  First, I need to acknowledge my husband, Scott, who was always very understanding of my need to hole up—in his mancave, no less—and write.  Second, I need to thank my dear friend Kathryn Cloward for mentoring me, grounding me, and always believing in me (and along those lines, thank you, Julie Seal, for introducing us).  I want to also thank my wonderful and brilliant editors, Jennifer Harris and Tracy Steinhandler.  Your words were sometimes hard to take, and I may or may not have thought about punching you a time or two, but in the end, you took my baby where it needed to go (also, you weren't within striking distance).  Thanks to: Denise Sassoon, Tracy Wilson, Laura Sopko, Connie Whitcraft, and Christine Miller for reading this thing in its (700 page!) infancy and offering up suggestions. 

             I want to thank my family for all the support, love, and eye-rolling when I told them I was writing a book.  To my mom, thank you for always loving, supporting, and encouraging me.  To my farmer dad, thank you for making me tough at a young age and teaching me the value of hard work (and for teaching me to drive a tractor when I was 7).  To both of you, thank you for bragging about me, because I know you do.  To my sister Bobbi, thank you for being such a crazy go-getter (an inspiration for the main character) and standing by me.  To my sister Jamie, thank you for giving feedback in early days and thinking I have talent. To my brother, Girl, thank you for spending hours and hours with me talking about and letting me have first-hand experience with ranching. Also, thank you for asking to read my book when we all know you’re a cowboy and cowboys don’t read.  To my brother Bryan, thank you for taking me to work with you for the contracting experience and for helping me get closure on the book.  To my brother Justin, thank you for offering inspiration for the character of “Robby” in this book.   To my extended family:  Scott’s parents and brother, my aunts, uncles, and cousins, thank you for being so excited about all this.  Your support means more than you know.

           There are a million friends who believed in me, who told me they couldn't wait to read it, who told me they thought I was a good writer.  Some of those words kept me pushing on when I wasn't sure I could take any more, and I sincerely thank you (Sandy, Josh, Rubyat,  Julie, and I'm leaving off a bunch, I know) from the bottom of my heart. 

            Lastly, thank you to my muses, who woke me up as early as 2:30 in the morning in fits of inspiration, without which this book--and more than 6 hours of sleep on any given night--would not be possible.

            Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.