Blackhearts (Blackhearts, #1)(102)

Teach.”

Jack nodded. “Good enough, although I think ‘Edward’

is too fine a name for you. If you intend to look like a street urchin and smell like a sow, I shall have to call you something else.” He looked Teach over from head to toe, noting his shabby black hair and beard. “You’re no dandy. I’ll call you Blackbeard.

Welcome aboard.”





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A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

It’s both incredible and humbling to think of all the people

who helped make this book possible. First of all, an enormous

thank-you goes to my amazing editor, Sara Sargent. Working

with you has been a privilege and an honor. You understood

what I wanted to write from the beginning, and without your

valuable insight, Anne and Teach’s story wouldn’t be what it is today.

To the remarkable publishing team at Simon Pulse, who

helped make this dream of mine come true: Mara Anastas, Mary

Marotta, Liesa Abrams, Kayley Hoffman, Carolyn Swerdloff,

Teresa Ronquillo, and Nicole Ellul. Thank you so much for all

of your support! Karina Granda, you rendered me speechless

with the beautiful design for the cover. I couldn’t have asked for a more accurate symbol of Anne and Teach’s struggle. And to Sarah McCabe, Rio Cortez, and Danielle Esposito, thank you

for taking the time to read the manuscript and making sure I

told Anne’s point of view the way it should be told.

Quinlan Lee, I will never forget the day I received your

e-mail asking if we could have a chat. You were an answer to my prayers and I will always be grateful to you for being such a huge champion of this book.

Thank you also to Tracey Adams, agent extraordinaire, who

took me on. Your knowledge of and passion for the industry lets me know I’m in very capable hands. A special shout-out to Josh Adams who came up with the brilliant title for this book. And

to Samantha Bagood, your feedback was greatly appreciated.

I’m incredibly blessed to be a part of the Adams Literary family.

There have been many writerly friends who’ve supported

me on this journey. I’m grateful to Anne Perry, über-talented

murder-mystery author and longtime family friend. I’ll never

forget your encouragement and our discussions about charac—

terization and plot. To my sister from another mister/critique partner, Becky Wallace: I wouldn’t have made it this far without you, cyber best friend. One day we will get to hang out together.

Thank you also to Caroline Richmond and Lynne Matson for

being awesome betas.

Thank you to the many book bloggers who’ve already shown

incredible support and excitement for Blackhearts.

I have several nonwriterly friends who’ve helped me along

the way. Dionne Matthews, Brandee Hammett, Andrea Stroud,

Sam Loveland, and Becca Castleton, thank you for taking the

time out of your busy schedules to read for me. Of course I

couldn’t have written as much as I did without the help of Janine Sydney, and Jake Simpson, as well as Holly and James Loveland.


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Thanks for being there for me throughout this entire process and entertaining my kiddos while I pursued my dream.

To my mother, Doris S. Platt, you always encouraged me

to write. You knew I would love it, because you taught me to

love books. You were right! To my father, James S. Platt, you

taught me the importance of getting up every day and going to

work, no matter what. To my siblings Andrea Christiansen and

Cameron Platt and their families, thank you for listening to me when I talked about my story ideas. For my twin sister, Kirsten Major, I’m so glad I had you by my side. Not everyone is as

lucky as we were to come with our very own best friend. Your

family is lucky to have you! To my in-laws, the Castroman/

Perez clans, thanks so much for all your support.

And finally to my beautiful family: Sophia and Anthony,

you are my everything and I’m proud to be your mother. You

always believed in me. Thank you for understanding when

I said, “Mommy has to write.” And to my Miguelo, I knew

when we first met that you were the one for me. Without your

encouragement I wouldn’t have made it this far, and I’m thankful for every day we spend together. Te amo mucho.