It's been my dream for as long as I can remember to write stories. In fact for awhile, when I was younger, I thought about being a librarian, just so I could be close to books. And now it's actually happening. A book, one that I'm very proud of, will be available for your reading pleasure in ebook and trade paperback form, this summer or fall. And it will have MY NAME on it!!!

And contrary to popular belief, writing a book is not a solo effort. So, I'd like to take a few minutes of your time to thank everyone who has helped me along the way. Some version of this, I hope, will appear in the front of the book as well.

My thanks to:
-God, for making all things possible.
-My Mom and Dad, for reading to me and buying endless amounts of books.
-My husband, for always believing this was possible and also for dragging me out from behind my computer occasionally.
-My Grandma Barnes, for reading my first book and encouraging me to keep writing.
-RuneStone Publishing, for taking a chance on me. I promise, I'll do my best to make you proud (and make you money!)
-All my teachers and professors who encouraged my writing, Mrs. Koshinski, Mrs. Buske, Professors Uehling, Feaster, Byrne, Wangerin and Ruff.
-My fellow writers at work, especially Paula and Jeanine, for listening to me ramble, reading excerpts and celebrating with me.
-Marshall Cook for all his advice.
-My first readers: Ed, fight choreographer and web consultant extraordinaire, Deb, my is-this-scene-too racy-expert, Julie, who read this at work in less than a day and proclaimed it good, Becky, for catching all the missing words and for telling me that when she read it she forgot it was my stuff she was reading, and finally, Stacy Greenberg.

Stacy deserves an acknowledgement page unto herself. She read just about every query letter, synopsis and email I sent out, never hesitating to reread things over and over again. She answered my nervous what-am-I-going-to do-now phone calls, commiserated over my rejection letters and kept a cool head, something I was incapable of at times. And she never once stopped believing in me or my book, even when I wasn't feeling too sure. The Silver Spoon would not be what it is today without the help of all these people, especially Stacy. So, to my co-worker, my friend and first, first reader, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

All of you made this possible and I can't thank you enough for your time, your kindness and your generosity of spirit and words. You helped make my dream come true.