by Lily Black
Acknowledgements
I have been fortunate to gain writing friends who feel like family over the years, so I must send my love to my writing sisters Erica Christensen, Laura Andersen, Pat Esden, Ginger Churchill, and Becca Fitzpatrick. Thank you so much for all the hugs, love, encouragement, and chocolate over the years. I never could have done it without you!
Many thanks to my two ‘first’ writing mentors, Caleb Warnock and James Maxey. You shone a light down the path, helping me push forward when the way was hard to see.
A huge thank you to Jessica Anderegg and Neila Forssberg for their unwavering dedication and patience in helping this book to become a reality, and to the rest of the Red Adept team, especially Lynn McNamee, who runs the ins and outs of publishing with poise, grace, and an uncanny savvy. And also to all my fellow Red Adept authors. I’ve benefitted so much from all your wisdom and insights!
A gigantic hug of thanks to my sisters, Joy Hopper, Karin Joyce and Liza Edgell, for all your support in helping me get here, and also a particular thank you to my brother, Sgt. Jake Warnock, for going above and beyond in answering random texts and odd phone calls with questions about military life.
I must also acknowledge a debt to the various writing organizations from which I’ve benefitted over the years while writing this book and others, such as SCBWI, SFWA, and especially Romance Writers of America. I’ve found the workshops and conferences I’ve attended to be universally helpful.
In an endeavor like this, spanning years, there are so many wonderful people who play a part in shaping the writer and the book. Accordingly, I want to thank Orson Scott Card and my boot camp buddies, the wonderful folk in the Authors Think Tank, my writing pals in the NC Kidlit group, and the many other amazing author friends I have made over the years, plus my wonderful supporters in Northern Virginia and in the Hillsborough, Durham, and Raleigh, NC, communities that have nurtured me and my family over the years. Thank you so much for your smiles, encouragement, and support. I wish I could reach out and give each and every one of you a hug, because each of you played a significant role in this book’s creation.
A special thank you to the folk of TKD Martial Arts Academy of Burke, VA, for pushing me to my limits in pursuit of my black belt, and for being my first martial arts family. In particular I want to thank my black belt instructors for their patience and dedication in sharing a love of martial arts with the young, old, and in between and for treating each student with dignity.
I also want to thank my mom-in-law, Karen Peterson, for her many years of enthusiastic support and faith in me, and extend that thanks to the entire wonderful family that I gained by marriage.
And finally, sincere thanks and love to my sweet husband, Chad, and my two kids, Jeremiah and Rianna. We’ve spent what feels like a lifetime on this journey of publication together—thanks so much for being the best possible traveling companions I could ever have.
About the Author
Lily Black believes in true love, but she is also quite certain that going after it is the scariest thing we’ll ever do. She explores this dynamic in her romantic suspense novels, which are set in the small imaginary town of Willowdale, where people dream big, love deeply, and kick butt if necessary.
Lily has a black belt in Chung Do Kwan Tai Kwon Do, and she has also trained in everything from judo to broadswords. She lives in North Carolina, where she tries to divide her free time between the mountains and the sea. She shares her home with a very patient and loving husband and their teenage daughter.
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Did you love Storm of Attraction? Then you should read Love Poison by Pete Barber!
Love is a dangerous drug.
Lab assistant and avid climber Amber Wilson is no stranger to risk. But she feels invisible around her handsome boss, Mark, until she accidentally doses him with an irresistible aphrodisiac that leaves him with a suicidal hangover. Abruptly fired, Amber and Mark partner up to research the source of the drug—a rare New Zealand mushroom—in hopes of refining it for safe use.
On their way to New Zealand to collect fungi samples, Amber is blindsided by a deep and intense romantic connection with Mark. Their new business plan is endangered by ruthless Maori mobsters who control a mushroom scheme they're killing to protect. As the body count rises, Amber struggles to salvage her and Mark's dreams, but when she risks her heart and acts alone, both of them could end up paying the ultimate price.
Also by Lily Black
Willowdale
Storm of Attraction
