Across three books it was hard to compose my thoughts for a really solid acknowledgements section, and I realized I’d like to put them more publicly online where folks can see in a straightforward way exactly how I have been supported and by whom!
Authors
What I love most about the indie book community is that authors back each other up. Often we’ll do that even if someone’s writing isn’t our vibe. We see the blood, sweat, and tears that goes into a project and we honor that by promoting each other, hyping each other, and offering advice and compassion basically without needing to be asked.
Since I started publishing, I’ll never forget the place RK Ashwick holds in being an indie author I cold contacted on Tumblr HAHA. She was so kind and validating and went on to champion me when I jumped into Instagram. SO Callahan is another one who was ready to talk shop, offer encouragement, and let me collaborate. Bev Mitchel, who supports me with commissions, CJ Aralore who jumped onto my ARC team and offered great proofreading with kindness and speed. MN Bennett, Merlina Garance who put together the Achillean Romance Bingo, and DN Bryn who became an approachable beacon for indie books I wanted to aspire to be more like.
Of course unspeakable gratitude goes to Al Davidson, who was part of the chats that dragged me like a siren song into indie publishing with their expertise, passion, and “if I can do it, you can do it” mentality. Al is willing to share shop secrets, promote my work, and let me vent about the frustrating space of indie pub. And of course talk about BL.
My first writing friend, Vicky Day, whose excitement, encouragement, line editing, sounding board, and friendship has been invaluable this last year. Thank you for not giving up on me.
Finally, my editor, Quinton Li, who has this nuanced way of being a fan, an advocate, and a mentor to my writing. I’ve learned so much from you.
REaders
Thank you to all the folks who found me at markets, at Tropes and Trifles or Comma, A Bookshop, and stopped to chat and show interest even if you didn’t end up falling in love with my books.
Thank you to every beta reader from Fiverr, Discord, or Twitter. Thank you to every ARC reader from across the globe, from friends of friends, friendly Instagrammers, or other authors who spared the time to give to my work. Thank you to all my friends who read my books or brough my books with them to their worlds.
Thank you for the book reviewers who stuck with me for the whole trilogy including Josh, Sebrina, Amanda, Olivier and Pete, and the glorious Cat Treadwell, who initially got into the series to fact check my representation of Druidism given that she’s a professional Druid priestess in the UK!
Booksellers
My success at indie bookstores began with Comma, when I walked in and chatted with Elizabeth who literally pulled up her calendar while I was there in order to schedule a reading for me. It was Elizabeth who gave me the information for Caitlin and Lauren at Tropes and Trifles, which was then a pop-up boutique selling romance books. When I chatted with Caitlin, she said she and Lauren would come to my reading at Comma. I was masked with a fever but did it anyway, and Caitlin and Lauren snuck in to my reading and revealed themselves afterward in a delightfully dramatic fashion. Not only did T&T begin consistently stocking my books, they have put me in sticker business. Tropes and Trifles have singlehandedly forced me to dismantle much of my imposter syndrome because I am for all intents and purposes treated as a legitimate author by them (I know, I am — but often don’t feel like it).
Creatives
Zsasa Kaslavska gets her own thank you as the typographer for the series. Her handmade swirls, typography, and inside chapter headers have been stunning across all three books. Her communication, her willingness to make adjustments, her ability to easily keep to a deadline have all stunned me. I would absolutely recommend working with her, which is wild considering I randomly came across her on Fiverr back in July of 2023.
Family & friends
Thanks to my dad for being an Alpha reader, a partner at MiniCon, a fierce street team member (contributing to getting Deny Me shelved at the high school I went to), and a very proud papa. Thanks to my mom for pushing yourself out of your comfort zone for my sake. Thanks to Taylor, Kirby and Zack, Kate, Anna, Brooke, and Faith for your enthusiastic encouragement.