Midnight Curse (Disrupted Magic Book 1)
Page 30
Acknowledgments
Writing books always seems like such a solitary profession: from the outside, it’s just me spending hours hunched over a laptop in a variety of locations. I wrote Midnight Curse on a huge variety of couches and kitchen chairs, not to mention while I laid in a hammock on my Hawaiian vacation, from the front seat of my minivan while I waited to pick up my kids, on several airplanes, and of course, sitting on the futon in my office while a hyper chinchilla ran across the keyboard. Always alone.
And yet, for such a reclusive activity, it’s surprising how many people were involved in making Midnight Curse a book that I’m proud to put my name on. I need to say a special thank-you to the readers who loved Scarlett Bernard and asked me for more, via email and Facebook and Twitter and occasionally even to my face. I might have written this book anyway, because I missed Scarlett so much, but it would never have been published without you guys out there showing me your support and creating demand for another Scarlett novel. I thought of all of you so often when I wrote this book, and I’m so excited that you finally have it in your hands.
Of course, I have a lot more thank-you’s to go around. I’d like to thank the book’s beta team: my LA expert Tracy Tong, medical expert Jayme Hayne, and Elizabeth Kraft (hi, sister!), whose job is part brainstorming help and part promising me that it’s not garbage, usually while I’m pacing around my house mainlining sugar. I also want to thank fellow author Donna Augustine, who was gracious enough to go through the book as a first-time Old World reader, making sure that Midnight Curse would make sense to people who weren’t along for the first part of Scarlett’s journey.
Of course, I have to thank my publishing team: the dev editor of my dreams, Angela Polidoro, and my acquisitions editor Adrienne Lombardo, who wasn’t with me at the beginning of Scarlett’s journey, but believed in me and my books enough to let me do a fourth installment. My deep thanks as well to the team that painstakingly goes through this book for errors and typos. Every one of you helps this book be greater than what I started with, and for that I am so grateful.
Along with the people who helped me with Midnight Curse, I also owe infinite thanks to all the usual suspects: my understanding husband, who sometimes respects my job even more than I do, and my amazing babysitter, Saint Amanda, who gives me the peace of mind of knowing my kids are safe, happy, and probably having a better time than they would with me. My parents, my extended family (many of whom text me two-sentence reviews of every new book, and, surprise, they’re always glowing), my fellow authors who are always willing to listen or grab a drink at conventions. You guys don’t just help me with my job, you make my job fun. Without all of you, being a writer really would be solitary, and I’m so grateful you all are in my life.
—September 2016
About the Author
Photo © 2013 Elizabeth Kraft
Melissa F. Olson was raised in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and studied film and literature at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. After a brief stint in the Hollywood studio system, Melissa moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where she eventually acquired a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a husband, a mortgage, two kids, and two comically oversize dogs—not at all in that order. Learn more about Melissa, her work, and her dogs at www.MelissaFOlson.com.