Alias: The Doyen Series book 1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My mother, who none of this would have been possible without. You have been there every time I have been hurt—physically and mentally. You were there when I had my first heartbreak. You were there when I felt like giving up and ending it all. You were there when I decided not to publish and pushed me to do it anyway. You have been there through every harship, every pain, every moment and I will forever be thankful. You are beautiful, smart and the best mother a girl could ask for. This book would have never been completed without you.

My father, who is my rock. Dad, I may not have told you about the book until a month before it was going to be published, but I promise I was thinking of you the entire time. You have always been there, too. You threaten to beat up my boyfriends and purposefully embarrass me in front of my friends. But you buy food when I don't even ask you to, pay for my gas and move my furniture up three flights of stairs. I could never had made it this far in my life without you to hold me when I cried.

My younger brother, Landon, for always being my best friend and largest supporter. You may think I do stupid things (like write books) but you love me anyway. You may even kill me for writing something so sappy in a book for all to see, but it's okay because I know that you will never pick up a book in your life. Just so you know, Bubba, I love you too.

Lauren and Claire who have remained my best friends even though I close myself up to write all day. You guys inspire me to be my best self every single day and I can never be more grateful.

Madysan and Rockelle, who read the very terrible rough draft of Alias in high school and supported me anyway. You guys were

always cheering me on and asking me when the next chapter would be completed. I would have never continued to write if it were not for you.

God, for everything. He is always there, even though sometimes I feel like He is not. He helps me through every trial, every tribulation, every problem that comes and makes me stronger.

Madison, for teaching me to always be myself and reminding me that boys suck.

My grandparents, for telling all your friends about my accomplishments even when I beg you not to, clipping my pictures out of the newspaper to hang on your refrigerators, and commenting on all my Facebook photos. You guys have always been there for me through thick and thin.

The thousands of books I have read and their authors.

My English teachers and professors throughout the years that taught me how fun figurative language can be. Also, I apologize for all the sentence fragments and repeated words—it was all for a reason I promise!

Google for answering every single question (and there were TONS) throughout this entire writing process.

Alias—more specifically, Aisling—for helping me find myself. When I began to write this book, I had no idea what I wanted from life. The entire process forced me to get out of my comfort zone and grow as a woman. Aisling taught me what truly matters in life: family. She also taught me that pain and heartbreak do not make us weak and worthless; they make us strong and powerful.

To the girls (and guys) who decided it would be funny to pick on anyone in sight: thank you. Thank you for being mean to me. Thank you for crushing my spirit for so many years. Thank you for making me who I am today: a strong, independent, goal-achieving woman. I sincerely thank you for everything you did. I hope that you are happy and are living your best life. I hope that you grow old with the love of your life and raise a beautiful family. Most of all, I hope you realize that bullying—even if it is "only joking"—is a serious thing. It crushes someone to the point of dirt and it is very hard to repair a shattered soul. Have you ever tried put a broken vase back together with Elmer's glue? That is what it is like. Please, please, please think twice before you "jokingly" pick on someone over and over again. Thank you.

The readers, for picking up this book (and reading this far)! You guys are by far the most important part of this entire process. Where would an author be without her readers, after all?

Thank you, so so so very much for making my dreams come true!

xo