Maxon (34 page)
Authors: Christina Bauer
For more information and updates about the series, go to:
http://inkmonster.net/books/alpha-girl-series
Out now from Ink Monster,
Cipher
by Aileen Erin
For more information and updates about the series, go to:
http://inkmonster.net/books/shadow-ravens
Acknowledgements
“It costs a lot of money to keep this man in poverty.”
That's one of my favorite quotes about Mahatma Ghandi as spoken Sarojini Naidu, president of the Indian National Congress. First of all, I like it because it's funny, and you don't normally think of Ghandi and humor in the same sentence. Second, the quote is awesome because it's true. For anyone who achieves a goal, there is always someone (or more often, a whole mini-nation of people) who pay part of the price behind that success. One cool thing about books is that we have a traditional place to we say thank you to those people. Welcome to that spot.
I'll start with Sharyn Paris, the goddess to whom this book is dedicated. She's one of those lovelies who steps into your life and heals wounds, injects energy and radiates hope. Oh, and she does it all without any fanfare. Her keen observations, all given in a hypnotic southern drawl, change everything in a heartbeat. A classic example: “that dawg plays y'all like a two dollar gee-tar.” And indeed, Ruby the golden retriever was insisting on 2AM outings to fight evil squirrels which, in retrospect, was a tad more self-serving than truly driving any actual familial benefit. We sleep through the night now. However, my all-time favorite example of her wisdom is the text she sent me when I was at the end of my rope and ready to give up on writing. It simply said, “I believe.” Sharyn is die hard Red Sox fan. I suppose that says it all, really.
There are additional gods and goddesses that I need to praise here as well. My husband and son show positively celestial levels of patience with a wife and mother who seems unnaturally attached to her MacBook Pro. Case in point: as I write this, I have been working for fifteen hours solid on a Sunday. You guys are awesome.
Then, we have the lovely ladies of Ink Monster. There's Aileen Latcham, who deftly saves the best of my ideas while nudging me gently away from the more crack-pot schemes. She edits like a pro and brainstorms like a queen. Thank you, Aileen! And then there's Lola. Ah, Lola Dodge, you were such a rock through writing
Maxon
. How you can ride elephants, learn Mandarin and edit huge chunks of copy in a matter of days will always be a mystery to me. Don't know how you do it, just so glad that you can!
And last but far from least, I wish to thank the extended team of awesomeness that keeps the show going. There's the phenomenal group at Inscribe Digital, led by the lovely and talented Kelly Peterson and Guillian Helm. You are mind-blowing! Plus, I can't forget my proofreader extraordinaire, Susan Edwards. I hope to have fewer errors this time around and you to thank for it. And finally, I wish to extend my deepest gratitude to all my readers. Now, I know I'm supposed to define âreaders' as everyone who reads my book, even if they hate it. But can you blame a girl for liking those of you who give good reviews just a little bit better? Nah, you can't. And truth be told, if you like my books, then I love you to pieces. Hey, you get my stuff. You are my tribe. You rock death and I and can't wait to bring you
Portia
in October. The End.
Christina Bauer
graduated from Syracuse University's Newhouse School with BA's in English along with Television, Radio, and Film Production. An avowed girl geek, Christina loves creating immersive fantasy worlds with action, adventure, romance, and kick-ass female protagonists. As part of her work in Ink Monster, Christina has co-developed the âHeroine's Journey,' a blueprint for telling female myths inspired by the work of Joseph Campbell. She lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and golden retriever Ruby.
For more information and updates about Christina and her books, go to:
http://inkmonster.net/cbauer