By Your Side(70)

This is my seventh book! Seventh?! How did that happen? I’ll tell you how it happened, you readers. You inspire me to keep writing with your encouragement and love. You make me want to write more stories and explore new characters because you keep coming back for more. Thank you! Writing is my favorite, and I am so happy I can keep doing it.

I’d like to give a big thanks to Erika Hill at the Provo Library in Utah, who has hosted my friends and me for signings for the last several years. The Provo Library inspired this book. It is a gorgeous library. Thanks for the special tour when you found out I was writing By Your Side because it showed me that not only is the library gorgeous, it is also seriously cool (bell towers for the win). I did have to make some adjustments to the library for the purposes of the story, but overall I tried to stay true to the feel of the building.

As always, I’d like to thank my agent, Michelle Wolfson. You have been there since the beginning, through all the ups and downs of this industry, and without you, I’d probably be lost by now. Or at least more lost. You are an awesome support and friend.

Thank you, Catherine Wallace, my editor. You are very good at making my vision better. Thanks for believing in my stories and making them come to life. And to the rest of my Harper team—Jennifer Klonsky, Stephanie Hoover, Elizabeth Ward, Tina Cameron, Bess Braswell, Jon Howard, Maya Packard, Michelle Taormina, Alison Klapthor, the Epic Reads girls, and others I’m sure I’m missing—thank you!

My husband, Jared, has become the first reader of my stories, and he is awesome at giving me the confidence I need before I send it to the people who have to tear it apart so I can make it better. Not only does he read my stories, he supports me in everything I do. In fact, I’m writing this thank-ology during the Rio Summer Olympics and I told him I wanted to take up rowing. He said: “We’d better move to Michigan, then.” (For the record, I probably won’t take up rowing.) I love you, Jared.

Isn’t it weird how I keep switching back and forth between first person and second person. Aren’t you glad I’m better at writing books than I am at writing acknowledgments? Unless you hate my books. Then it’s probably a toss-up for you.

This paragraph will also be about my family. My kids are awesome. I know other people think their kids are the best, but I pretty much won the kid lottery (I should’ve saved that line for my next book, which is about winning the lottery. Acknowledgments Spoiler Alert, my next book’s acknowledgments section will have the “kid lottery” line again). Hannah, Autumn, Abby, and Donavan, thank you for always supporting me and for being pretty laid-back kids who know how to make me laugh. I love you all so much.

I also have some amazing writer friends who are always around to help me iron out a story or brainstorm ideas or stay up until three a.m. at writers’ conferences making me laugh so hard I cry. So much love to: Candice Kennington, Jenn Johansson, Renee Collins, Natalie Whipple, Michelle Argyle, Sara Raasch, Bree Despain, Jeff Savage, Tyler Jolley, Charlie Pulsipher, Michael Bacera. I shouldn’t have started naming names. Now I’m going to miss someone awesome and feel terrible.

That said, I’m going to name more names. I mean, that’s kind of what this section is about. On to nonwriter friends who I love and who keep me grounded: Stephanie Ryan, Rachel Whiting, Elizabeth Minnick, Claudia Wadsworth, Misti Hamel, Brittney Swift, Mandy Hillman, Emily Freeman, and Jamie Lawrence.

Last, but not least, my amazing extended family. Are you ready for another long list of names of people I love so much? Here it comes: Chris DeWoody, Heather Garza, Jared DeWoody, Spencer DeWoody, Stephanie Ryan, Dave Garza, Rachel DeWoody, Zita Konik, Kevin Ryan, Vance West, Karen West, Eric West, Michelle West, Sharlynn West, Rachel Braithwaite, Brian Braithwaite, Angie Stettler, Jim Stettler, Emily Hill, Rick Hill, and the twenty-five children that exist among all these people.