Walking Heartbreak (33 page)

No novel has been
like Walking Heartbreak for me. It assaulted my mind in the car one day, then fogged up my walk on the beach. For weeks, it made my legs jump with impatience under my day job work desk, to the point of having my good friend and co-worker say, “Please, can you
stop
?
!
”

It took six months before my other books were done and I could finally write the first words. I’m an author, but to describe the relief I felt when that first chapter had been written is impossible.

As with all my novels, there have been villages involved. Villages consisting of the same loyal people with skills and talents that mean the universe to my final product.

First, a huge kiss to my husband, Michael, who’s a patient man. He’s also in the music industry and tours for a living himself. Thanks to him and what I’ve seen out there, there are some pretty damn realistic scenes in this book.

I’m also grateful for my daughter, Alexandra, who reads and loves all of my books. And I’m over the moon about my son, Nicolas,
not
reading them; he’s still scrubbing his eyes after accidentally opening Stargazer on the wrong page.

I can never thank my author besties enough. We’re in this together, loving, fighting, and loving this journey some more. Dead honest feedback is how we roll, because how else can we keep getting better?

Lynn Vroman, again you cracked your whip of awesome at a manuscript of mine. Your input, your enthusiasm, your steady expertise made me trust that I could polish it into the novel it now is.

Angela McPherson, you grabbed Walking Heartbreak and turned around the medical know-how I so needed in mere days, helping me hit my deadline. Your sweet attention kept me from panic attacks in moments of need.

D Nichole King, you always locate inconsistencies and typical issues I am known for by you. Insert winky-face here. You’re my honest, honest girl, and the fact that you put this book baby on your favorite shelf means stars and moons and distant suns to me.

Cheryl McIntyre: your feedback, your love for my stories, the way you see things in sentences no one else sees. How you read depth of characters and extract symbolism I can play with. Your emails make me smile and tear up, and your tiniest corrections shoot me off to tweak my draft. I say it nonstop, but hell—this is
my
book so I can say it again: you have no idea how much your feedback and friendship mean to me.

Laura Thalassa, again you’ve done it, helped me polish and find those last details, the ones that I’d hate to find later on published paper. But most of all your swooning comments made my day this time. Thank you, thank you!

Dawn McIntyre, do you realize it’s been seven books? I’m so grateful that you enjoy my novels so much that you’ve helped me every. Single. Time. Your response means ions to me. Your genuine, clear input, telling me what you want, what you love and don’t, is exactly what I need to nudge my stories up a last step before release.

My beta readers, Renee McMillan, Rachel Spurlock, and April Martin—there is nothing like you reading my baby and affording me your impulsive responses as you read. I’m humbled that you dropped your to-be-read stacks to squeeze in Walking Heartbreak.

I’ve never mentioned my loyal blogs in my acknowledgments, the ones who are pivotal when it comes to spreading the word about my cover reveals, releases, and sales. There are too many to pull out single names, but you know who you are, you beautiful, beautiful girls and boys who
are there
for me, making my books visible in the overgrown jungle that is the indie market. Just—I cannot thank you enough, and I want you to know you’re on my list. Not on my black list or my white list. No. On my golden list.

And then, above everything, there is
you,
sweet reader. Writing equals breathing for me, so I would write without you, but boy, what a difference it makes to have you along for the ride.

You
. Are my star.

Thank you for reading.

Sunniva was born and raised in Norway,
the Land of The Midnight Sun, but spent her early twenties making the world her oyster: Spain, Italy, Greece: Southern Europe—Buenos Aires, Argentina. Finally, the United States kept her interest, and after half a decade in California, she now lounges in the beautiful city of Savannah. Sunniva has a Master’s degree in Spanish, which she taught until she settled in as a graduate adviser at an art college in the South.

Sunniva writes New Adult fiction with soul and purpose. Sometimes it’s with a paranormal twist—like in Shattering Halos, Stargazer, and Cat Love. At other times, it’s contemporary, as in Pandora Wild Child, Leon’s Way, Adrenaline Crush, and now Walking Heartbreak.

Sunniva is the happiest when her characters let their emotions run off with them, shaping the stories in ways she never foresaw. She loves her bad-boys and her good-boys run amok, and like in real life, her goal is to keep you on your toes until the end of each story.

Writing this (Mid-November 2015),
I have a few projects in the works: the first is a martial arts warrior romance with characters you have never met before. It’s due out at the end of March 2016, and I cannot wait for you to read it. Next up, I have the stories of Emil, Troy, and Elias swirling in my head; whoever pushes the hardest wins! By signing up for my newsletter, you’ll be the first to know once I have more details.