Sunbolt (The Sunbolt Chronicles) (21 page)

It’s a rare thing that a book comes into the world without the help of at least a handful of people. In this case,
Sunbolt
had the support and encouragement of a wagonload of folks.
 

As always, a huge thank you to my husband, who has supported me from day one, read nearly every draft, and only occasionally reminds me that sleep can be as important as writing. Thanks as well to my parents, for stapling my first books together when I was three and supporting my writing ever after, and to my brother and sister-in-law, who are always willing to read a draft and voice encouragement.
 

I am also deeply indebted to the writers who have reached out to me since I first published, including the talented and kind Elisabeth Wheatley, and the awesome Runaway Pen gang: Theresa Shreffler, Melissa Sasina and MalAnn Bronson.
 

Sunbolt
has had the help of many, many beta readers, to whom I am very, very grateful. Thanks to my initial readers, writing circle cronies Janelle White and Hannah Kutcher, for those first suggested revisions. Many thanks for the thoughtful constructive feedback and Facebook discussions of my Round One Beta Readers: Emily Colvin, Shy Eager, Ahmed Khanani, Tia Michaud, Alina Shosky, Bekah Trollinger, Kat Wise, Elisabeth Wheatley, and Janelle White.
 

Extra special thanks to my Round One teen beta readers: Hohokam Middle School students Hailey McCann, Vauxn McQuillen, and Sophia Lewis; as well as British International School of Jeddah student Mus’ifah Amran. You guys rock!

Where there’s a Round One, there’s bound to be a Round Two. Huge thanks are due to Ann Forstie, Claire Hermann, Anne Hillman and Theresa Shreffler for everything from suggested scene changes to brilliant line edits to making sure my selection of fruits and fish in Karolene made sense. I can’t thank you all enough!

Sincere and deep thanks are due to the bloggers and readers who have encouraged me by reading and reviewing my work. More than a few times, it was that new review or blog post that helped me to sit back down and keep writing.
 

As a person of faith, I am ultimately grateful to God—for granting me the love of writing, a way to share my stories, and the support I need to keep going.
 

Intisar Khanani grew up a nomad and world traveler. Born in Wisconsin, she has lived in five different states as well as in Jeddah on the coast of the Red Sea. She first remembers seeing snow on a wintry street in Zurich, Switzerland, and vaguely recollects having breakfast with the orangutans at the Singapore Zoo when she was five.
 

Intisar currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and two young daughters. Until recently, she wrote grants and developed projects to address community health and infant mortality with the Cincinnati Health Department—which was as close as she could get to saving the world. Now she focuses her time on her two passions: raising her family and writing fantasy.
 

Intisar’s latest projects include a companion trilogy to her debut novel
Thorn
, featuring a new heroine introduced in her free short story
The Bone Knife
… and of course, she’s hard at work on the remaining installments of
The Sunbolt Chronicles.