Rose of Thorne (31 page)

The words “THANK YOU” seem so inadequate for the gratitude I have for everyone in my life
that has helped make this dream possible. This journey has been simply phenomenal and I am so thankful to be given this opportunity! I am terrified I am going to forget to mention someone in this acknowledgment, so if I do, please don’t think I am not grateful…I’m just human
.


To my wonderful and loving husband, Jeremy, who believed in me and encouraged me when I needed it the most.
I think you believed in me before I believed in myself! Thank you for cheering me on and letting me chase my dream! Because of you, I’ve never been happier! I love you, baby!

To my two precious children, B & B, Mommy loves you more than you will ever possibly know.
Thank you for not destroying the house too much or complaining about late dinners when Mommy was typing like a mad woman on the computer. I hope you always follow your dreams and remember I am here to catch you if you fall.

To my mother, words can’t tell you how special our bond is to me. You are my best friend and you have always loved and supported me in every venture of my life.
Thank you for always inspiring me and encouraging me not to be afraid to live and to take the leap. I love you so much!

To my amazing Daddy, I miss you more and more with each passing day.
You were my rock and my biggest cheerleader. I can still hear your voice cheering me on and it is in that I know you are all around me! I hope I make you half as proud of me as I was to call you my Daddy. I will love you forever!

A special
‘I love you’ goes out to all my family and friends who supported me and loved me through this process. I cannot begin to say how much it meant to have your phone calls and messages of encouragement. I can’t possibly name you all, but know how special you all are in my life!

Sometimes in
life, we don’t realize how saying the simple words “I believe in you” can change someone’s world. For me, that came from a person who is like a sister to me. Carey, you have been there for me through all the good and bad times in my life. You have always held me up and believed in me in times I just wanted to give up. This book would not have been published if not for you. Thank you for always being there for me! I love you so much, my dear precious friend!! I look forward to sharing a padded cell next to you one day,heifer
!
P.S. You better hope I don’t talk in my senile years. LOL.

To my fantastic, amazingly talented best friend Michelle, I can’t begin to say what your friendship means to me.
You are the only one who can talk me down off the ledge when I get so overwhelmed and spastic! Thank you for believing in me and showing me what is possible once you truly believe. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!! I can’t even begin to thank you for my MAGNIFICENT book cover you designed for me!! You saw exactly what I envisioned and brought it to life. WHITE DESIGN AND PHOTOGRAPHY ROCKS PEOPLE!!!!

To my Jen Jen, where do I begin? Our Cheddar Lunches ROCK
!
I have laughed and giggled so much with you as we discussed the fun details of our favorite leading book characters. Thank you for all the late night texts and lunch dates to help me find my way when I was lost in the direction of my characters!! Lucas and Sebastian have their flair because of you! I adore you so much and am so glad we share such love in reading. More than anything, I have to thank you for not laughing at me when I told you I was giving this a try. Instead, you simply asked me how you could help. That is the characteristic of a true friend. I love ya, babe! P.S. Four words…baseball cap and jeans!!

Emmy Montes, you have no idea how inspiring your words are to me every day.
You are brilliant at what you do and remember I am your biggest fan, chick! Thank you for everything you have done for me, but most of all for just telling me to stay true to myself. I think that is the best advice I have ever gotten in this business. SUPER HUGS go to you, my friend!!! Can’t wait until we get to meet face to face!

JB McGee
… where do I begin, sweet lady? You befriended me and gave me the helpful insight of the path I needed to take in order to make this dream a reality. You are not only an AMAZING writer, but you are an even more AMAZING friend! I hope to meet you one day, my fellow southern bud!

Katie Mac and the Indie Express
LLC, I truly think you are an angel sent from above! Without hesitation, you welcomed me in with open arms. I can’t tell you just how much that meant to me. Finally, through your guidance, I was introduced to the most AWESOME GROUP of BETA LADIES! Thank you for everything, sweet lady! Us southern gals have to stick together! KATIE MAC’S INDIE EXPRESS LLC BETA’S ROCK THE HOUSE!!! Also Katie I promise to work on my … addiction!  You have been blessing to have as my editor!  Thank you for all your hard work to make this happen!

TO MY THORNY BITCHES…
WE DID IT!!!! Kristina Amit, Stacia Newbill, Alexis Durbin, Christine Mateo, & Tina Bell, you have lifted me up when I was down and pushed me to give you my all. Thank you seems so inadequate for all you ladies have done for me. Our friendships mean the world to me and even though we have yet to meet, I know that one day we will make that possible. I love each and every one of you to death! Thank you for taking time out of your busy lives to read and help me with this! MWAH! Love you gals! GROUP BETA HUG!

Kristina Amit, my guardian angel above. I love you beyond words.
If ever God put an angel in my life, it is you. You have encouraged me every single day and never let me give up on this dream. So how can I say thank you to that? You are a blessing to so many people’s lives and I think you have found your true calling. My face lights up every time I see your name on my phone. I CANNOT WAIT for us to meet! I swear I have found my soul sister! God meant for us to be in each other’s lives and I am more than honored to call you my friend. I LOVE YOU!

To Amber Vaughn, my KICK ASS EDITOR
from The Indie Express LLC, you rock sister! I am so grateful this brought us together and I have enjoyed working with you immensely! I thank you from the depths of my heart for all your positive feedback and helpful advice on all my edits of this book. I loved reading your highlighted comments, because they always made me smile. I treasure our new friendship and look forward to a long future of working together! I promise to expand my use of synonyms in book 2
.
HUGS TO YOU,LADY! Can’t wait to meet you!! P.S. I’ll never look at a colorful unicorn’s hair the same now! Got to love our late night chats
!


To my phenomenal ARC Readers, Becky Carter Nichols, America Matthew, Angela Lane, Stephanie Loftin, Julie Deaton, Danielle Plane, Alison Bailey, and Kathy Brosch, you guys are flipping fantastic!!
I adore each and every single one of you and I am so grateful for the time you took out of your lives to read my book and review it for me. I am so thankful a little angel by the name of Kristina Amit who helped me put this group together! You are ALL BLESSINGS to me!! I love you guys!! Can’t wait until we start working on Thorneless!!

I have to give a humongous shout out to America Matthew who completely kicks ass when it comes to picture teasers!
You nailed every possibly concept in my head and gifted me with amazing picture quotes that literally stole my breath! America, I LOVE our late night/early morning chats and especially our discussions on Sebastian! You get that man better than I can ever express! Like I said, it is like you climbed into my brain and connected with him. I love you to pieces and can’t tell you how much I treasure our friendship! I look so forward to working with you for a LONG time in the future! MWAH!!!

But most of all THANK YOU, MY READERS
, for taking a chance on me and buying my book! I can’t wait to take you on a fabulous journey in the THORNE series! Book 2 Thorneless will be coming November 2013!!! I would LOVE to hear from you guys and for you to leave me a review on Goodreads! Thank you again from the bottom of my heart!!

Demons- Imagine Dragons

I’d Die Without You- PM Dawn

Fix You- Coldplay

Love Song- Adele

Sweet Love- Chris Brown

No Ordinary Love- Sade

Kiss Me- Ed Sheeran

Angel- Massive Attack

My Valentine- Paul McCartney

Wicked Games- The Weeknd

Lil’ Freak- Usher featuring
Nicki Minaj

Who’s That Chick? – David Guetta featuring Rihanna

If I Lose Myself Tonight- One Republic

Kill and Run- Sia

Arms- Christina Perri