A Deal with the Devil by Elizabeth O’Roark

Acknowledgments

I fell in love with Tali and Hayes from their very first conversation, and I wanted their story to be perfect. In order to get it there, I leaned on a billion people, so bear with me here.

First, the professionals: T Bird London and Silently Correcting Your Grammar read earlier, different versions of this book, followed by Laverne Clark, who edited it. Then I had the good fortune to discover the wonder that is Sali Benbow-Powers and had her give me a developmental edit on what was supposedly a finished product. You’re really not supposed to get a developmental edit AFTER the book is done, but I’m so, so grateful I did because she is amazing, and I will never publish a book without her again. It was then proofread by Julie Deaton, and I had to have my lovely, eagle-eyed friend Janis Ferguson give it a final glance before it went forth into the world. Lori Jackson took care of the gorgeous cover and Valentine PR has done a spectacular job of letting the world know this book exists. Thanks so much to all of you!

A deepest, most heartfelt thank you to my beta readers: Shannon Vick Alley, Kimberly Ann, Tricia Coan, Katie Foster Meyer, Laura Steuart, Jill Sullender, Erin Thompson and Jen Wilson Owens, with a special shout-out to Katie and Jen, who read approximately 10,000 versions of this book and still managed to maintain their enthusiasm for it. Thanks also to author Jami Albright for taking time out of her very busy career to read this and assure me I was on the right track.

Finally, thanks to my friends and family for supporting me during this agonizingly long process. I promise I’ll never waste a full year on a book again, for all our sakes.