Breaking Conviction by Greer Rivers
Acknowledgments
As always, I have a ton of shoutouts. My acknowledgements are crazy long and I make no apologies for that because I don’t think we should ever apologize for being thankful. I was talking with someone just the other day about making sure I thank *everyone* I can for helping me release this baby into the wild. You obviously don’t have to read this, but you can if you want to! Hell, you might even be in it. But the tl;dr version is: if I know you, I am thankful for you, more than you’ll ever know.
First, and almost foremost (sorry, the hubs is always my #1), thank you READERS! The dream makers, the spicybooktokers, and the Boss Ass Bitches! I know your time is precious, so to have you spend it on something I wrote is a true damn honor. If you are also a booktoker/bookstagrammer/faithful reviewer, holy crap, let me just tell you that you make an author’s world go ‘round. Hanging out with y’all is why I do this and I love hearing from readers: good, bad, or ugly, although admittedly I’m always fingers-crossed for good. I’m truly so surprised every single time someone says something pretty about my words. I wouldn’t be able to pursue this dream without y’all so thanks for making my dreams come true!
To Marisa at Cover Me Darling: Thank you so much for putting up with me! I was a stressed out wreck and you held my hand while making a cover that was better than I could dream of!
Many thanks to Elle McLove, my editor at My Brother’s Editor, and Rosa Sharon, the Fairy Proof Mother: Y’all are the freaking best and I’m so thankful to keep working with MBE. Elle, I’m so sorry… for the Oh Write punctuation that made my document have to have 9566 changes… I also apologize that I’ll go to my grave not knowing whether it’s rifle/riffle, wracked/rack, the Third/III, and further/farther… I truly appreciate your patience… even though I’m sure you want to beat me over the head with these needless ellipses in this paragraph. Lol, sorry girl, I had to poke fun at myself one more time. Rosa, it makes my damn life when you say you like something! As far as that very last comment goes, I’ll tell you, you’re onto something ;)
To BC’s alpha and beta readers:
Lee J, Jessica, A.V., Kristen, Carrie, Ashleigh, Sierra, Whitney, Randi, Janet, Melissa, Jessica, Sara L., Amy.
This book would be an absolute disaster without y’all. Jessica, A.V., and Lee, we’ve been together since the beginning and I’m so grateful for each of you. Lee, as always your star sign shows in your comments and I love that you wear your heart on your sleeve, even when you read. A.V. I so appreciate your comments and that we’re both on the same romantic suspense journey. I think just about every comment you’ve ever made I’ve followed through with and I’m super grateful you’re helping make me a better writer. I’m so grateful for our friendship.
Thank you betas for telling me your pretty words and for those of you who shared your own personal stories. You have no idea how much that means to me that this book could help start those types of conversations. Changing a life for the better is all I could ever hope for with my books. I love you all and I’m so appreciative of my friendships we’ve developed.
Kristen and Whitney, y’all probably think this is all real sappy and that’s okay. Your sassy feedback and messages make my day and I’m so happy we’re frandsssss!!
Carrie and Sierra, your constant support has truly made me choke up with tears at some points. Thank you for your encouragement, putting up with my delayed texting, and keeping me on my toes with writing.
Ashleigh, your specific feedback was exactly what I needed. Thank you so much for enduring me bugging you with questions and for being my friend.
Randi and Janet, thank you so much for checking in on me when I fell off the ends of the earth. You guys rock.
Melissa, Jessica, and Amy, thank you so much for taking the time to read and provide awesome feedback. I’m sorry I suck at emails and springing shit on you at the last minute.
Sara, you and I’ve been through it since the beginning too. I absolutely love that you give me the time to make it prettier before you get it because your feedback is *everything*. I’m so glad we’re friends and that you’re okay with me hermiting away in my writing cave half the time.
Moral of the story: I feel like I’ve made some great friends with all of you and that means everything.
Melissa, Sierra, and Carrie (again, lol): Thank you so much for your daily gifs and check-ins, always encouraging me, and being nice to me even when I’m being annoying and fishing for compliments. I cherish our friendships.
To my TikTok author friends: You have been encouraging as hell and also hilariously fun to get to know. Booktok is my people and I’m so glad I joined and met all you other thirsty bitches. This has been such an incredible journey and I am so very grateful to call y’all my friends! ORLANDO kicked ass and I CANNOT WAIT for NoLa!!!!! And hopefully Salem (fingers crossed).
To Lee J: You are the Cancer to my Scorpio and I swear every damn TikTok with us is exactly right. Thank you so much for loving me even though I’m your Simon Cowell alpha and even though we both fell off the face of the earth to write these books. I’m so proud to be your friend and I can’t wait to see what happens next for us.
To Kayleigh: BISH. We have got to stop living on these damn deadlines. They are kicking our asses but I’m super grateful I can complain and rant and rave with you. I love that we’re always on the opposite sides of the emotional roller coaster but we meet every time in the middle when we both just need someone to be mad with us. Only having one day for a real life visit was not enough, so we need to fix that pls. I’m excited for our shared Google Docs *eyes emoji* and Halloween.
To my OG BABs/Dinner Divas: Katie, Sydni, and Liz: YOU ARE THE BEST SECRET KEEPERS THAT EVER KEPT SECRETS. I seriously can’t believe we made it like 9 months before someone found out. Y’all are seriously ride or dies and I’m so grateful for you. Thank you for throwing me book parties and drinking wine with me. I need it to happen forever please. I also love dancing with y’all at weddings. We should do more of those, *cough cough* *eye emoji* not looking at someone’s significant other in particular of course.
Thank you, Katie, my bestie who always just gets me and knows when I’m gonna act like a crazy-person and cuts it off at the start. I love that we had the idea last year to always go out to eat every week. We’ve been busy as hell lately and slacked off, so let’s be better about it so I can brag about how we see each other all the time in the next book, kay?
Thank you, Sydni, for being the bestie who gets real excited aboukkkt the olives on my plate when someone accidentally talked about my book at dinner. I’m convinced you rock at literally everything and I’m so thankful that friendship is one of those things. When I was talking about weddings, I wasn’t talking about anyone you know… *eyes emoji*... but if I were and when “it’ll happen” happens, I promise to dance like a fool and we’ll have the best time.
Thank you, Liz, for being the type of bestie who always comes up with ideas and always invites me. The other day we were talking about how you’re basically the driving force for our group *doing stuff*. I know that’s probably a drag sometimes, but seriously, I love it so fucking much that you are always thinking about our friends and creative ways to hang out. I would probably never see y’all without you, and so I have you to thank for the strong group of ride or die bad bitches that I do. Y’all aren’t allowed to leave me. I sent you a TikTok telling you, so you can’t undo the friendship now. Sorry not sorry. P.S. I can’t wait for autumn nights, mountain views, and good wine with y’all.
To my wonderful family, my momma, sisters, BIL, and precious baby angel face niece: if y’all ever read this, I’m sorry I’ve been MIA writing 110k word book in a month. In my defense, y’all know good and well I’m a “dilly dally” and you’re deoxyribonucleicly obligated to still love me. May you always and forever be my oblivious supporters. I love y’all with all my heart but I mean it with all sincerity when I say please, for God’s sake, do not read my books. If you are in these acknowledgements because you have indeed read a book or two, well, whoopsie, hope you enjoyed it, at least, lol. Keep your judgments, but I’ll take your prayers. Lord knows I need them.
To Maria: I don’t know what I’d do without you. The fact that you read my books is a testament to what a kickass therapist you are. I firmly believe that when everyone is born we should be assigned a therapist and I’m so grateful I lost my mind at the perfect time that I got to have you as mine.
To Athena, you crazy bitch.
And finally, to the hubs: You are my “Mighty Alpha,” first reader, last reader, BUSINESS PARTNER, TikTok approver, cliff jump pusher/catcher, favorite encourager, IRL book boyfriend, best friend forever, and the love of my life. Thank you for “cobalt” and reading BC a million times. When you tell me pretty things, I listen, I swear. It fills me up and gives me the courage to do all the scary things in this writing world. I CANNOT wait for January and BGP, and to just hang out while we take on the world together, even though I’ll lowkey hate going to the gym at lunch. As always, I am so incredibly thankful for you believing in me 100% and encouraging me when it was crazy and not financially sound to do so. You’ve saved my life and you’ve changed it for the better. I wouldn’t want to spend a moment of it without you and I’m super pumped to make that like almost 24/7 in a few months, God and TikTok willing. Thank you for making every day an HEA.
Love,
