Say Yes by Kandi Steiner
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I want to thank my mother – LaVon Allen. Mostly because that ornery woman would never let me live it down if I didn’t! Just kidding, it’s because she’s the whole reason I’m here and able to do what I love. Thank you for everything, Momma. You’re the wind beneath my wings.
Say Yeswas an emotional journey for me as a writer, especially as I submerged myself into what it would be like to be Harley. I want to give two very special shout outs to the women who helped me handle the topic of symbrachydactyly with tender care and grace.
First, to Markie Lundquist, the most amazing mother to the most special little boy in the world. Thank you for making time to read this when I know time as a new mom is hard enough on its own! And I hope Liam likes the character named after him, although we shouldn’t let him read this until he’s at least sixteen. ;)
And next, to Devin McCain, an amazing part of our indie book community who so graciously offered her time to read Say Yes in the home stretch. Your feedback was invaluable, and I’ll never forget the message you sent that moved me to tears. Thank you.
It takes a team to make a book come to life and really shine. Thank you to my amazing alpha, beta, and charlie readers. I literally could not do this without you. Trish QUEEN MINTNESS, Kellee Fabre, Dee Lagasse, Frances O’Brien, Carly Wilson, Sarah Green, Jayce Cruz, Lily Turner, Sasha Erramouspe, and Heather Brown, your feedback took this book from zero to hero, and I can’t thank you enough for your time and attention.
To Staci Hart, my ride or die through all things as a writer. Thank you for helping me sort through my thoughts when it came time to plot Say Yes, and for your amazing feedback in the editing stages. As always, you’ve saved me. I hope you never stop.
Tina Stokes, you are not only one of my most valuable friends, but also the best personal assistant I could ever ask for. Thank you for reading Say Yes and giving feedback, as well as helping promote it even better than I could. You are a ray of light in this dark world and I’m lucky to stand in your glow.
A giant thank you to Elaine York of Allusion Graphics for editing and formatting this book and all my others. The fact that you studied humanities came in great use for this one! As always, you polish me up and make me shine. Love ya, babe.
Valentine PR, your team constantly amazes me with their attention to detail and out-of-the-box thinking. Thank you for being amazing.
If you bought this book because of the cover, then you’ll have to join me in thanking the incredibly talented Lauren Perry of Perrywinkle Photography. I’m so fortunate to work with her to bring my characters to life, and Kelly and her husband, Judd, were absolutely perfect to represent Harley and Liam. Thank you, team, for working your magic!
There are so many people who likely would have never even HEARD of me or this book without the love and support of our blogger community. Thank you to each and every single one of you who shared the cover reveal, teasers, read an ARC, and blasted on release day. You are the heartbeat of this community and I appreciate you more than you know.
A special shout out goes to my group on Facebook, Kandiland, where I feel like I can truly be my weird self. Thank you for always encouraging me and being just as excited as I am about new projects. Oh, and for fully sending me writing a book set in the 90s so we could all live out our nostalgia… sigh. <3
Special shout out to Kandilander Brittany Jones, who suggested the name “Harley” on a thread where I was asking for name ideas. You won! ;)
Finally, thank YOU, reader, who even read through the acknowledgements. You’re awesome. You had a million choices when it came time to pick a book to read, and you picked mine. It is because of you that I am able to live a life I’ve always wanted, sharing words with others across the world. I hope we can do it for many years to come.