On Tenterhooks (57 page)

He put his sunglasses back on.
He walked through the doorway,
grabbed the door and started to close it.
“Let’s just say it
’s a good practice run for ya.
See ya
‘
round man
.
Be safe.”
Then, finally, he
closed the door behind
him
.

Steve stare
d at the closed door,
trying to absorb
all that Biker had told him
.
His gaze wandered to the sign above the door:
Good friends can turn any house into a home
.
Without a word, he felt Martin’s hand
grip
his should
er
and Abby’s arm
slide
tenderly
around his
waist
.

Steve
smiled.

Acknowledgements

It is essential for me to extend a huge note of gratitude to the following people who helped me turn
On Tenterhooks
into a reality.

I would
like to thank
all of
my friends who encouraged and supported me through the writing process
. I had a voluntary network of fact checkers who kept me honest on every detail from boat speed to Spanish syntax and I could not have achieved this success without
their
open support and input.
Particular gratitude
goes to
Keri Ostby and Gray Craig, my
voluntary,
diligent proofreaders and go-to researchers.
Their
gut-reactions
and insight were monumental.

I am indebted to s
everal fellow writers, including Tom Pawlik, Vanessa Tyler and James Bruno, who were kind enough to help a newbie find his way into their world and offer support, advice and the necessary brutal honesty required to hone
my
idea into a real story.
There are also dozens of other writers in the
self
-publishing community whose words and example
s
were inspirational to me in making the decision to go indie.
I thank all of them for their
ongoing sense of community.
You all rock.

A big thank-you shout-out also goes to
my very good friend and talented photographer David Sullivan for allowing me to use his photography in the book’s trailer and cover. To me, his images epitomize the tone and the tension that I tried to achieve with my words.
His
photographs
continue to amaze and inspire me.

One of the rules I learned during this process was that no matter how talented you are, or think you are, give it to an editor before you publish it. He or she
will
improve upon it.
I’d like to thank my talented and maddeningly efficient editor, Rachael Garrity, who managed to keep me from stumbling into more than a few plot holes and fiction-writing
faux pas.
She was detailed, diligent and creative i
n her feedback and suggestions and although she sent
me
back for some hefty re-writes, I knew then, and I know now that every minute spent was worth it when I look at the finished product.

When I was in the fourth grade, my father gave me a copy of Steinbeck’s
The Red Pony
. It is the first “real” novel that I remember reading. With that novel, my Dad sparked in me a love for reading which has grown into my passion for writing. Although he is no longer with us, I
know
that
he would
be proud of how things turned out.

F
inally
,
I need to thank my wonderful wi
fe whom I have permanently dubbed as my biggest fan and harshest critic and I love her dearly for it.  She was my first reviewer and thanks to her, later drafts were more complete and effective than I would have ever been able to achieve on my own. I’d also like to thank her and our children for sacrificing many nights of “family time” to indulge me in getting
On Tenterhooks
completed.

Until next time
, Greever out.

Greever Williams is an American author of speculative fiction.
On Tenterhooks
is his first full-length novel.
Greever lives with his family in
North Carolina
.
Greever loves to communicate with readers and writers
across the globe
through social media. You can find him online at
http://www.greeverwilliams.
c
om
.

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