Welcome To Winterville by Carrie Elks

Acknowledgments

I’ve had the idea for Welcome To Winterville for a long time, but it’s taken until now to put Holly and Josh’s story to paper. It’s partially inspired by a trip I took with my family back in 2006 (what a long time ago) into the mountains at Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, and to the amazing theme park at Dollywood.

Now, Winterville isn’t Dollywood. There’s no theme park (yet!) and Candy Winter may have a lot of success, but she’s not Dolly either. Though she was a kick ass, strong woman, and Dolly is certainly that.

All this is to say that an idea is only the start of a book. So many people have helped me bring it to life, and I’m very grateful to all of them.

Rose David is my editor and she’s amazing. Mich from Proofreading by Mich catches my oopses like a ninja. And Kirsty from the Pretty Little Design co always knows how to bring my books to life - she’s a genius.

Marian is my beta reader, and she’ s fabulous. Her suggestions are always little nuggets of gold.

Thank you to my agent, Meire Dias, of the Bookcase agency, and Flavia who always gives me so much support and kindness.

My PA, Amanda, is amazing. You rock, lady!

To my family - thank you for accepting me for who I am, even when I’m mentally in another world where cooking and cleaning don’t exist.

And to my reader group, The Water Cooler, thank you for all your support and appreciation. We have a lot of fun, and it’s my favorite place to blow off steam.

Finally to you, the reader. THANK YOU for picking up this, and any of my other books. I hope I helped you escape for a little while. I’m grateful for you giving me a chance.

Keep smiling!

Carrie x