Wild Card by Ashley Munoz
Acknowledgments
This book almost didn’t make it. There were so many times I considered pushing back the publication date, or just tossing the entire thing out. It was a sacrifice to get it here, but there’s no way in the world I could have done it without these people.
First and foremost, God my creator and giver of words. Without you I wouldn’t have this gift, or the support system to publish.
To my husband Jose, thank you for always loving me, cheering me on and asking me what I need. That simple act of love does wonders for my soul. Holding down the household while I ducked away and finished the edits on this book, being fine with me ditching you and the kids for ten days to help my sister. You’re what romance is made of.
To my kids, I’m sorry that I wasn’t always available to play Catan with you, but I hope you know how much I love you and always will. Maybe one day when you look back through my books, and hopefully well after you’re eighteen you’ll know that I cherished the time, even if you didn’t see it. Kailey, you turning fifteen and getting that necklace from that boy. Kaitlin, you being thirteen and starting that equestrian group, Naomi at almost nine, and obsessed with Marvel and all things dangerous, and my baby boy- Nehemiah, Minecraft professional and enamored with all dinosaur things.
To my sister Rebecca, my brother in law Jonathan, and baby Emma. That little time away from the world, in your house, helping the both of you welcome in your first child was magical to me and essential to this book. Thank you for asking me, and for trusting me with your most precious treasure.
To my beta readers: Amy Elizabeth, Glady’s Sollis, Kelly Sirak Drudy and Summer Ford- I can’t thank you enough for your help with this book and how fast you rose to the challenge. I was utterly blown away by your willingness to jump in and help me wrangle story points and character flaws into place. I will forever be grateful. Kelly, you especially saved the day as my resident baseball expert, thank you so so much for all of your help on perfecting the sports portion of this story.
To Brittany, you know I love you and I’m so sorry you couldn’t read this early. I am just glad you’re still here, and still okay. I love you forever.
To my amazing cover designer, Amanda. This was our first time working together, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have found you. Your delivery of Decker on the cover was outstanding, now you’re stuck with me forever. I hope you’re ready for that.
To my editor, C. Marie- as always, I am so insanely grateful for making room for my words. I know you’re hot stuff in my industry and could easily turn me away for your famous clients, that I someday hope to be like, but you still take on my projects with enthusiasm and then you completely kill it with your editing skills. I love getting reviews pointing out how flawless my edits are.
To Tiffany, my PA. I adore you and you know that I don’t want to do this author thing without you. Ever. Thank you for being in my corner and being an amazing proofer.
And to you, my readers, thank you for taking a chance on me. I care about what you think of my stories and while I know I won’t make you all happy, I do strive to give you a story you’ll love and to do right by the characters you fall in love with. There’s so much more to come from this universe, so hold on to your kindles and keep em charged.