Susan Bischoff, best crit partner ever, who pushed me to look beyond the cliché and take another pass until this story was one that was truly worth reading;
Claire Legrand, enthusiastic sounding board, New Orleans consultant, and fabulous writing sprint buddy, who pushed me to actually get the words on the page;
Maria Zannini, without whom I would have no title and the story would be very, very different;
Lauralynn Elliott, Sheri Meyer, Deniz Bevan, and my other enthusiastic blog followers, who consistently cheered me on through all my assorted struggles and interruptions with this story;
And finally, to my husband, Allen, who has been an unflagging support through all my writing endeavors. I love you, baby.