Acknowledgments
UNTOUCHED
Who's in charge of this mad house of literary achievement (or mediocrity, depending on your perspective)? Well, technically, as the author, I am. But that's not the whole story.
Shannon Garza once more gave me her whole-hearted effort at making sure my characters didn't jump the emotional shark, as it were. She gave detailed feedback and commentary that allowed me to keep a pulse on how everyone was feeling, what everyone was doing, and how it all fit together to create a reading experience, and for that, I owe her my thanks.
Debra Wesley once more came to the rescue with countless technical details and thought of things I didn't even consider.
More thanks also to Calvin Sams, who once more read the draft and provided some additional critique.
We also had a new addition this round, the great Robin McDermott, who took time away from her busy life as a new mommy to parse the book, and she found some insights that no one else did.
Lastly in the editorial department, but certainly not leastly, muchas gracias to my esteemed Editor-in-Chief, Heather Rodefer, who not only finds my errors and corrects my grammar, but also found the flaming man in the cover art for this work! That's why she's the Editor-in-Chief.
The cover was put together by Karri Klawitter (artbykarri.com) using a work done by user dmv-bros on dreamstime. I don't know who dmv-bros is, but I know Karri did an amazing job turning it into a fantastic cover.
My apologies to the city of Glencoe, Minnesota. It was nothing personal; it was down to either you or Norwood Young America, Minnesota, and frankly, look at the name on them! You expect me to type that over and over? Simplicity was your undoing. Accept it with grace and move on.
My mom marvels at my ability to churn out books (frankly, so do I, but let's not look gift equines in the oral cavity, okay?) and recently asked me how it came to be, since neither she nor my father have even the remotest interest in writing. The answer is this - my mom has read more books than any other person I've ever met. If she ever created a Goodreads profile and plugged in all the books she's read, it'd crash the site (thanks for not doing that, mom). My father, on the other hand, is not much of a reader, but is quite the wordsmith. He makes up rhymes and turns phrases just for the fun of it. Nothing narrative, just idle amusement. But when you combine my mother's love of story and my dad's enjoyment of messing around with words...well, you get me. Someone who wants to write a lot of novels. For their respective contributions to my career path, I owe them my thanks.
Finally, we come to my wife and kids. Once more, I owe them everything, because without them, I wouldn't be doing this.
Acknowledgments
SOULLESS
Third time around, and thrice charmed I have been as an author of this particular series. There are again thanks aplenty to be doled out, and here are the responsible parties:
Heather Rodefer, my inestimable Editor-in-Chief (she keeps earning that title) once more deconstructed this manuscript from top to bottom, from left to right. She has my thanks for keeping me between the (electronic) lines.
Shannon Garza gave me feedback on the emotional highs and lows of this piece (in addition to searching tirelessly for all those pesky errors I sneak in to give her something to hunt for) and helped it achieve whatever emotional resonance it may have (for me it held a lot, your mileage may vary).
Debra Wesley once more assisted me in finding errors, eliminating inconsistencies, and picking up little details that I hope my more eagle-eyed readers find (hints for the future, so read close).
Calvin Sams also read over this particular work, giving me some notes on his thoughts, and for that, I thank him.
Robin McDermott also provided a great deal of editorial input, helping to shape the way this manuscript was written, and helped me catch some very important errors.
Wendy Arnburg took time to help me figure out exactly which guns Sienna would find most comfortable. She would want me to tell you that the choice of Sienna’s back-up gun (a Walther PPK) was totally the author’s choice, and a nod to the world’s most famous fiction user of said firearm, and was against her advisement.
Janelle Seinkner took time to answer a few medical questions about things that I wondered about (for Sienna, not for me). That help was much needed, and my thanks go to her for it. Any medical errors that remain are probably there because I should have listened closer to her rather than tried to go with what was best for the story.
The cover was designed by Karri Klawitter (Artbykarri.com). Exceptional covers, exceptional prices.
Thanks also to Nicholas J. Ambrose, who did the edit and format work here once more. Nick is truly a titan, and one of those most responsible for my work upholding the level of professionalism that it does. During the final phase of publication of this book it was driven home to me in a very obvious fashion how much Nick has contributed to every one of my books, and for that, I thank him.
And in the last part of the roundup, thanks to my mom and dad, wife and kids. You know who you are.
The Girl in the Box Series, Books 1-3: Alone, Untouched and Soulless Page 83
