Magic in Costa Rica

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank countless people for their help and encouragement throughout the process of writing this book. This is my first full-length book (hopefully of many) and I had so much fun writing it, but I probably would have given up at some point if it weren't for everyone who supported me along the way:

First and Foremost, I want to thank Liz for being my wonderful editor and friend. After I wrote every chapter, she read every single one and commented on my document, making me laugh, and helping me enormously with the entire process. Those late nights we spent chatting on Google Docs were some of the best times I've ever had. For nearly three months, I've done little else but talk about Magic in Costa Rica, and she has put up with it like a champ. I don't know what I would have done without my Carla there to help!

Second of all, I would like to thank Google Docs for never crashing on me or deleting anything important. I know that the software is not meant to support several documents, each hundreds of pages long, at one time, but Google Docs kept up with me. So thank you, Google Docs, for always backing me up when I needed it the most.

Thirdly, I want to give a shout out to all my friends and family who have been so encouraging to me during these past few months. To my mom, who was the first person to ever read the first chapter, and who was the one who told me I should turn it into a book. To Toni and Kailynn, who heard about it non-stop at school while they were trying to do work. To my little sister, Molly, who stayed up with me late at night editing my first draft so I could post it on Wattpad. To my therapist, Robert, who dealt with me ranting about Alma and Carla and Matthew during my sessions, even though he probably had no idea what I was talking about. To Heather and Dad, who have been extremely patiently waiting to read it while it was being edited. And to Margaret and Kaitlyn, who have also been waiting to read it, and have been so supportive and encouraging of me during the process, even from hours away at college.

Lastly, I want to thank every wonderful, meaningful, and painful experience that I've ever had, and that has enabled me to write this book. Although it is fiction, in every sense of the word, the emotion and the passion that I hope is evident throughout the pages, is my own. So thank you, to every time I've ever laughed or smiled. Thank you to every tear I've shed, thank you to all the fear I've felt. Thank you to all the music in my head and the words in my heart, that somehow, I was able to type onto a page. I wouldn't give it away for anything, and nobody could ever take it away. Although it's a little rough around the edges, and it may not be genius or groundbreaking, Magic in Costa Rica will always have a special place in my heart.