2013 has been an incredible year,
and I have so many things to be thankful for. I have an amazingly supportive
family and wonderful friends. I’m healthy and happy. None of the year’s
accomplishments can trump that. But this year my childhood dream came true – my
debut novel was published.
Failure is not the worst thing
that can happen. Never trying, never chasing down that dream – that’s the true
tragedy. That’s the most important thing I learned from this process, and I’m so
thankful I had to courage to try.
I’m thankful for my critique
partners, who went through Reclaimed
line-by-line, squealed over my cover, and recommended it to everyone they know.
I’m grateful for my editor, Danielle Ellison, who helped make Reclaimed what she knew it could be. I’m
so lucky to be able to work with Spencer Hill Contemporary and amazing people like
Patricia Riley, Cindy Thomas, Patrice Caldwell,
the Reading With Me Team, and everyone else who had a hand in shaping,
polishing, and prepping Reclaimed.
And for the first time in my life,
I have readers, and for that, I am truly thankful. Thanks for reading. Thanks
for the reviews, the notes, the tweets, the excitement. Thanks for standing in
line to have your book signed. For begging me to write a sequel. For sharing
your favorite lines. Thanks for the support.
More than anything, I want to
thank readers for sharing their stories with me. A sixteen-year-old girl wrote
me a letter telling me how much she connected with Jenna because how Jenna
feels about running is exactly how she feels about ice skating. She wrote about
knowing what it’s like to want to escape a small town and how Jenna spoke to
her. That meant more than I can express.
Just last week I signed a copy of
Reclaimed for a 60+ year old woman
who told me she’d already read the first chapter and that it reminded her of
when she was a teenager. When she was younger, her father was very sick and in
the hospital. When the tension was too much for her to take, she would ride up
and down the hospital elevator, trying to catch her breath, trying to escape
everything. While she was there, she met a boy. They flirted back and forth
often, and after that, she never saw him again. If you’ve read Reclaimed, you know how similar that is
to the opening chapter of the book, and I loved hearing her version of a similar
tale.
I’m thankful for everyone who had
a hand in getting Reclaimed to
readers, and to readers who, because you picked up the book, became a part of
the story.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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