Between Two Worlds [Excerpt Only] | NOW A PUBLISHED NOVEL

Acknowledgements

Writing is often a lonely task.

It involves hours of sitting and using nothing but your brain and every ounce of creativity and energy you have—not to mention stashes of tea and chocolate and occasionally tears. But on the sidelines, I have been privileged to have some of the most amazing people cheer me on and to them I owe the world. This story would not be the same without you.

To my Lord and Savior, Who inspired this story in the very beginning, and Who has been with me all the way through. Thank You for letting me tell this tale.

I would also like to thank my dearest friend, Rebekah Hou, for telling me this story should be written. I probably would never have written it otherwise.

Thirdly, I want to give a shout-out to WattPairsMentorship for hosting the mentorship program and to M. Dalto for helping me make this book better through various edits and polishing. Thanks to my fellow mentors and mentees for giving me the encouragement I needed to reach the end: Gladys Quinn, Taryn, Xandria, Cassidy, Marianna, and Amy. And to Sev and Jasmine for your immense help during the querying process.

My eternal thanks belong to my beta-readers: Celia Cahill, Lucy Kennedy, and to my dearest friend and schiva, Brianna De Man, for helping me make this story the book I envisioned. To Ver, for always being so supportive and helping me fix the blurb and letting me come to you with my endless questions whether the wording of something was right. And of course, to my amazing editor Elisabeth Hayse who made this story even stronger, and Deborah O'Carroll, my copy-editor, for catching the small mistakes I had left.

To my friend and talented graphic designer, Faera Lane, for capturing my vision in the lovely cover she made.

To Cross and Wim and Mercy and everyone else who voted for me like mad in The Fiction Awards 2019 on Wattpad. To win a popularity award on that site with a book so controversial is an achievement that wouldn't have been possible without you.

To my launch team for being the most amazing people who listen to my odd rants about new things I am discovering with this story, who move me to tears with your posts on social media and seeing you get excited for a book you've never read, and who have supported this novel's publication.

This book also owes its published form to the following people who preordered this book and have supported me in many ways. I cannot thank you enough:

Deborah O'Carroll
Alyona Hill
Victoria Nicol
Hannah Yu
Rebekah Hou
Verity Buchanan
Jennifer McKeithen
Randall Beecham
Brianna De Man
Kayla Miller
Jasmine Shouse
Fallon Davis
Breanna Marsh
Rachel Johnson
Sarah Penney
Lincoln Naylor
Gabrielle Paul
Byron Weigler
Evangeline Mount
Titus Alexander
Stephanie Smith
Elizabeth Russell
Rae Graham
Hannah Ward
Mary Sivils
Eric Koester
Jim Menefee
Mercy Buchanan
Sally Benjamin
Robert C. Noble
Jennifer Peterson
Bailey Gaines
Stacie Eirich
Jeanne Nicol
Alex Nova
Ethan Wennerstrom
Aria Maher
Priya Petty
Bonnie J. Bodo
Elizabeth Reiss
Morgan Matich
Caitlyn Wetzel
Melissa Little
MC van Delft
Amy Gillespie
Brittni E. Anderson
N.C. Kay
Alisha Sheaffer
Victoria Smith
Julianne Bieron
Stephanie Bird
Maria Clarissa Shanisha
Julianne Arambula
Savannah Cooper
Ryan Ouellette
Janice Verhoog
Stephen Howard
David Fisher
Cody Goff
Aria Miller
Joseph Conkle
Amanda McCrina
Regina Appleby

Lastly, to my "gang" who not only inspired some of the characters in this story, but have also been some of the most encouraging people I know. To Frankie Vitale who not only inspired Ffionn, but also Rufus, and his brother Luca who inspired the name of Lucius. To Isaac (Ilar) Willour, my "adopted" brother, for somehow having faith that I could write and publish this book; to Corina Peppo, for your friendship and prayers during the stressful mentorship; to Ike Graham, for that text you sent me, telling me not to give up and that I would finish—I will never forget it; and to Brayden (Brynmor) Peppo, for your friendship and support—and in answer to that question you asked me once if it all was worth it, I can say now that yes, it was.

And thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to the readers whose names I do not know and probably will never meet, for being a part of this journey.

You all have made it worthwhile.