Fueled (Driven, #2)(138)
There are few necessary shout outs I must make, and it doesn’t mean that other bloggers are less important, but just that these particular ones have helped me enormously in some way or another. Jenny and Gitte from Totallybooked: Where do I begin with you two? Thank you so much for answering the ridiculous PM’s from this newbie and treating me with the same respect as you would a New York Times best selling author. I appreciate the late/early chats, endless stickers, and words of wisdom—your kindness is immeasurable and your support astounding. I’m telling you, it’s the J&G effect! To Liz Murach with Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews: thank you for hosting a kick ass release week tour. Wow! Between the cover reveal and the actual tour, you knocked my socks off. Thanks to Autumn and Julie at AToMR for their incredible blog tour in September—as always, pure class. Thanks to Emily Kidman with TheSubClub for the endless encouragement and always when I seem to need it the most.
There are so many more bloggers to thank that I can’t even begin to list them all, but I’ll try, and if you’ve been left off, please note that it’s only because my brain is overtired from looking at this computer screen. So thank you to Donna at The Romance Cover, Tray at the BookHookers, Jessy at Jessy’s Book Club, Sandy at The Reading Café, Meagan at Love Between the Sheets, Ellen at The Book Bellas, Michelle at The Blushing Reader, Stephanie at The Boyfriend Bookmark, Mary with Mary Elizabeth’s Crazy Book Obsession, Lindsay with Beauty, Brains & Books, Liz with Romance Addiction, Stephanie with Stephanie’s Book Reports, Alicia at Island Lovelies, Jen at TheBookBar, Kimberly at Book Reader Chronicles, Jess at A is for Alpha, B is for Books, Stephanie at Romance Addict Book Blog, Cara at A Book Whores Obsession, Amy at Schmexy Girl Book Blog, Autumn at The Autumn Review, Lisa at The Rock Stars of Romance, Jennifer at Wolfel’s World of Books, Kim at Shh Mom’s Reading, Jamie at Alphas, Authors, & Books Oh My, Books by the Glass, and soooo many others I can’t even remember….Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Another set of thank-yous is owed to my beta readers. When I released Driven, I had no idea what a beta reader was. Only three people had read it before its release and I think if I’d had beta readers, the main criticisms I received with Driven, would never have made it to the final product. So to my beta readers Willy Schilling, Jennifer Mirabelli, Josie Melendez, Jodie Stipetich, Melissa Allum, Kim Rinaldi, Emily Kidman, Autumn Hull, Beta Hoo, and Beta Haw: Your opinions, remarks, and comments were invaluable to me and to the final version of Fueled. I appreciate your brutal honesty, the time you put in, and the second pair of eyes. You’ve helped to make the finished product that much more…
To my editor Maxanne Dobbs of The Polished Pen, thank you for taking the time to read and re-read my llllooonnnnggg book and helping me try to pare it down as much as possible. I didn’t like you too much when you told me Rylee was coming off as a bitch—but I’m glad you did because those adjustments made a difference in the reader’s empathy and lowered their frustration level. To Deborah at Tugboat Designs—killer cover once again…and to think that we got it right on the first attempt! Thank you! To Stacey with Hayson Publishing, thanks for formatting Fueled on such a short notice! You surpassed all expectations. To Jennifer at Polished Perfection, thank you for the second and third set of eyes!
To my A.C.E. contest winners – thank you for being a part of Fueled! In the Las Vegas scene at TAO, Colton and Beckett guess what Ace means, and these lovely ladies get the credit for those guesses: Lysette Lam for Colton’s guess of “attractive, charming, and exquisite” and Sandy Schairer for Beckett’s guess of “all consuming ego.” Thanks to everyone who participated in the contest, I had some good laughs over your definitions.
Music plays a huge part in my books, so thank you so much to the many artists for their talents in which I used their songs as inspiration to write several scenes. Nothing sets the mood for writing like a certain song. Special thanks to Matchbox Twenty, Rylee’s go-to therapy music and of course, as Colton so politely said, “Fuckin’ Pink” – thank you for the inspiration behind one of the most important lines of the book!
To my Son for watching old school Spiderman movies on Netflix—over and over ad nauseum—having those as the background to my writing provided me with the other two most meaningful quotes in this book. May you never have to repeat superheroes. Ever. I Spiderman you bud!
To my baby girl: thank you for typing on my working copy of Fueled as often as you could. My betas thought I had randomly typed license plate numbers mid-paragraph—nope, that was just CJ making sure she’s heard! I love you crazy girl!
To my oldest daughter: thanks for trying to sneak a peak at my screen every chance you can because now, you can read, and Mommy’s nervous about what you just might be reading on her computer. Thanks for your patience and unending questions in regards to “do people really read what you’re typing?” Let’s hope they do. Love you too bug!
To my husband: Thank you for being patient during this whole process. Thank you for inventing places to take the kids so that I get a few hours alone here and there to write uninterrupted. Thank you for being okay (well mostly) with take-out or food from a bag because I need to get a scene finished. Thank you for not complaining that laundry takes a whole lot longer now and the house is a little bit messier. Thank you for going to bed by yourself several nights a week while I stay up and then fall asleep with Colton instead. (Sorry ladies, it’s one of the perks of being the author!) Thank you for understanding that the computer is now glued to my fingertips and the woman who never forgot anything, is now a tad bit absentminded—just blame it on those damn people in my head. I love you!