The Orphan Queen (The Orphan Queen #1)(103)

Jill Roberts, my mom, who gasped, “That’s a terrible ending!” when I explained my plan for revising the first draft. Thanks, Mom. Your horror let me know I was heading in the right direction. Sorry to make you sad, though.

Jillian Boehme, a wise and generous friend who will one day come around to properly appreciating Batman. (I’ll keep loving you even if you don’t.) Thanks for reading all my stories. And for the Batman T-shirt. I wear it all the time.

Kathleen Peacock, who reminds me of magic.

Myra McEntire, who patiently listened to early mad ramblings about world building, plot, and “Oh my commas, I don’t know if I can do this!” (Thanks for saying I could.)

Sarah Schaffner, my sister. We could totally infiltrate a palace together. What are you doing next week?

Stacey Lee, who challenged me to dig deeper into motivations and also fed me yummy Thai food. (Wil would have been all over that meal. Mmm.)

Valerie Cole, a darling friend who needs to know, “But how does Wil’s hair look after that fight?” It looks amazing, Valerie. Of course her hair looks amazing.

Wendy Beer, who plied me with castle and architecture research and always asked how many characters had died at the end of each day.

I salute you. Snap-thump

My husband, Jeff, who never once complained about the whole “My character does calligraphy and so must I!” thing. Thanks for not questioning my sanity during my (ongoing) pen and notebook addiction. And for being awesome all around.

God, who did indeed have a plan. Always love. Always gratitude.

And, of course, you: the reader. Whether you’re a librarian, teacher, bookseller, blogger, or someone who picked up this book because it has a cool cover (I mean, doesn’t it??), I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for reading and sharing your love of books.