Fire And Lies

AcknowledgementsHere's the part where I thank a bunch of people for all they've done for me. They know what they've done for me. I know what they've done for me, and you probably have no idea who the hell I'm talking about. Let's not event mention the insane amount of pressure put on an author for spelling this all out because you don't want to offend anyone who feels they belonged in the acknowledgments. As if writing a 500-page novel wasn't hard enough! In this sense, writing acknowledgements is a lot like triage. There are those who just aren't gonna make it—no matter how much they want to. There are those who make the cut, and those who can wait for another book to be mentioned, because word count matters, people! And let's face it, the more I talk, the more the word count increases, the more my readers are charged! Now, as a writer, I don't want to write some half-assed sappy sonnet that bores my readers (and I'll be the first to admit, as a reader, I never read this stuff). But as a writer, part of me feels obligated to write this all out despite being sincere about wanting to thank certain peoples. But how do I do this without boring the readers, being sincere, and not be too sappy all at the same time? Then I realized, vanity cards! Now those are entertaining! I'm the nerd who always pauses a sitcom to read each and every one of them, so here it goes! Simple, short, sincere, and sweet without losing the readers! The “I-am-so-grateful-that-I've-put-you-in-a-book” thanks goes to: Isaac the Husband, who matches my crazy. Angi the BFF for swapping the story ideas even though you don't read a drop of epic fantasy. Thank you for sitting through my Tolkien Talk while I dumbed down Lord of the Rings for you in much the same way I gave you that crash course in anime. Every writer has their support group and mine is everyone on board the HMS Slush Brain—Cindy, Matt, Adam, Weech, Stanislava, Stan, Kylie “Kraken,” and Chess! Keep the booze flowing, crew! Thanks goes to Mia Darien the Editor for making the book beautiful on the inside. Thanks goes to Indigo Forest Designs for making the book beautiful on the outside. To my family for your ongoing encouragement, love, and support. Here! I bequeath unto you, bragging rights! Emily, Daniel, and Elizabeth (the author's children) Adm, Alicia, Aaron, and Nikki (the author's siblings) And my parents…all four of them. And deepest thanks to you, my dearest readers, for coming back for more. Sink into my books with me. I will show you what I see.