Dramatically Ever After
Page 27
“Diabolical,” he said with a laugh. He smoothed my hair back again, his fingers lightly tracing the edge of my ear and down my neck. I had to fight to keep from closing my eyes and leaning in to his palm. “Does that mean you’re competing?”
I nodded, gracing him with a predatory grin. Forget German ex-boyfriends and fake-flirting in Boston. This next competition would be epic. “Bring it on, Lambert.” I punctuated my tough-girl words with a kiss that was calculated to melt him into a puddle of goo—and get us both sent to the principal’s office if one of the lunch monitors looked outside at that moment.
But he didn’t melt. Instead, he pulled back, his face the perfect mix of competitive fierceness and passion that made my heart stop.
“I can’t wait, Katsaros.”
We were going to kick competition ass.
THE END
AUTHOR’S NOTE
While the “US Change Council” is a fictional scholarship contest and conference inspired by a mix of three or four real programs, there are many student scholarship programs and opportunities to help offset college/technical/vocational school costs, some of which can go as high as 100% coverage. Like Dev told Em, “You can’t win if you don’t even apply,” so I encourage students to reach out to their guidance counselors, local religious and civic organizations, and (for US readers) to use resources like the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) list of approved student programs (https://www.nassp.org/news-and-resources/nassp-approved-student-programs) to find their own “Change Council” opportunities.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Considering Em loves theatre and musicals so much, it would be an absolute travesty to mention The Sound of Music in Bookishly’s acknowledgments but not in Dramatically’s, so, starting at the very beginning (you know the rest!)— thank you to all my readers. Your tweets, emails, reviews, and comments magically seem to come whenever I need a boost. I’ve had the joy of meeting some of you, either in person or virtually. I’ve (literally) cried happy tears over your “aesthetics” posts and fanart. I love fangirling over books, animation, and all sorts of wonderful things with you. You make all the stress, long hours, and rewrites worth it. Thank you for reading and I hope Em’s story lived up to your expectations.
Next, to Patricia Riley and Asja Parrish, my amazing editors. Bless you for pushing and challenging me to make this book a million times better. Thank you for helping me to grow as a writer and for helping Em to grow as a character. Thank you for margin smilies at my goofiest lines and for challenging me when I tried to take the “easy” way out in a character conversation (Honest to goodness, I now know more about divergent opinions on NGOs and voluntourism than I ever thought possible. Wheeee!)
To my agent, Carrie Howland, thank you for putting up with my newbie author questions and freakouts after Bookishly’s release and during Dramatically’s edits. Thank you for being my advocate, guide, and for not blocking my phone number in your phone after my gazillion texts. I still owe you that ice cream.
To everyone at Spencer Hill Press and Midpoint, especially Karen Hughes—endless thanks for your work on Bookishly and now Dramatically. Thank you for giving me such beautiful books and for dealing with all the curve-balls from bookstore computer system glitches to an author who (sometimes…okay, maybe a lot of the time…) kept responding to everything like a project-managing engineer. To Caroline DeLuca, who worked magic in copyedits and had to put up with my “made-up-but-not-quite” Ever After universe brands. And to Eric Kampmann, thank you so much for supporting Spencer Hill Press, myself, and this series.
To Meredith Maresco, the best publicist on the planet, as well as someone I’m lucky to count as a friend. You handle everything I’ve seen thrown your way with so much grace, creativity, and an epic sense of humor, and I can always count on you for a heart-emoji battle just when I need it the most. You deserve the world for your work and friendship. Please never stop being amazing.
To Veronica Bartles, Stephanie Pajonas, and Deena Graves—three of the most talented writers I know and the first people to read and believe in Em’s story. Thank you for your endless suggestions, support, and for helping me to make this.
Despite juggling being a new father, work, election season, and putting out the most EPIC Star Trek: Excelsior episodes on the planet, James Heaney took so much time out of his schedule to help me work through a number of scenes in this book. From the moment I got your email to now, I’ve been giggling over your “Mao Tse Kris” comment (and will probably giggle about it forever). Thank you, thank you, thank you.
There may have been a point while writing Dramatically where I reached out to Madeline Martin in a panic, saying something along the lines of, “Uhm. I have Em saying this thing about a kiss that ‘set her panties on fire’ but, uhm HELP!” You and your romance writer magic made me push through my inherent fear of kissy scenes and hopefully made the sparks fly between Em and Kris.
Again, always, to all the R&Divas, especially Erika, Lori, and Chris, who bore the brunt of my Dramatically Ever After cubicle babble after work and over lunches. To all my friends at both the NJ and PA sites, your support has meant the world to me, especially since I look up to so many of you. Writing can be a lonely profession and to know you all have been cheering me on (and that you read my book… oh, dear. UHM…) has really bolstered me. Thank you, also, for not laughing at my bright pink wrist supports, ergonomic mouse, and latte obsession when I’m on deadline. Thank you for showing up to signings and nearly making me cry at work by asking me to sign Bookishly. Thank you for being you and making “the day job” a joy.
Speaking of lattes…this is also for the baristas, especially at Burlap and Bean, who kept me well caffeinated and smiling. There’s a reason why my characters talk about fancy lattes all the time.
Writing is hard and finding your path as a writer is even harder without a compass. Eastern PA SCBWI has always been my compass, and the Ever After books will always be the Poconos retreat books to me. There’s magic in those cabins at Highlights Foundation. Sending so much love to all of you, especially to Kim Briggs—thank you for all of your support, friendship, and the endless work you (and Alison Myers, sending you also all the hugs!) do for kidlit.
Last, but never, ever least, to my family. To my extended family (including everyone who might not be family by blood but still family by years of friendship) whose excitement and support have made this journey a joy. To Nela and Susie—when we were little, Mom used to tell us, “Your sisters are the best friends you can have.” I don’t think any of us believed it back then, but now that we’re “all grown up,” I know it’s the truth. You have been my biggest cheerleaders and advice-givers and I couldn’t do this without you. To Joey and Dennis, who made me laugh and commiserated with me through all the ups, downs, and edit letters, thank you for being a part of this bookish rollercoaster. To Joey and Sara, for putting up with going to a bunch of TiTi’s book signings and keeping me company. And to Mom and Dad: you believed in me from day one, supported me through drafting, edits, being late to dinner as I worked through “one more paragraph,” and figuring out how these “grown-up” and “author” things worked. You are the reason why these books are even able to happen. Thank you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Growing up, Isabel Bandeira split her time between summers surrounded by cathedrals, castles, and ancient tombs in Portugal, and the rest of the year hanging around the lakes and trees of Southern New Jersey, which only fed her fairy-tale and nature obsessions. In her day job, she’s a Mechanical Engineer and tones down her love of all things glittery while designing medical devices, but it all comes out in her writing. The rest of the time, you’ll find her reading, at the dance studio, or working on her jumps and spins at the ice rink.
Isabel lives in South Jersey with her little black cat, too much yarn, and a closetful of vintage hats. She is represented by Carrie Howland of Empire Literary. Dramatically Ever After is Book Two in the popular Ever After series.