Acknowledgments

I want to do something a little different here, but first, a HUGE thanks to my daughter, Lexy. I had a little over a week where I spent long hours in front of the computer writing this book as the characters poured their hearts out to me. Sometimes, I can plan and take my time when writing books. This was not one of them, and it came during a week when my daughter was really feeling the effects of being stuck in the house for far too long. Damn the pandemic! Damn her Diabetes! It sucks, and it hurts as a Mom to have to ever turn her away, but the bills have to get paid somehow, and she’s the best and understands that. I also owe her for sharing her playlists on Spotify because some of what she had was used to curate the list that goes with this book. I love you Lexy – even when I’m that annoying Mom you roll your eyes at!

Now, on to the rest…

This book is kind of special because there are things that happen in it that a lot of readers don’t enjoy, refuse to read, or prefer to skip over. I used to be one of those people too. 😉 The Thing is, all kinds of people, from all age brackets, come into new relationships with their own baggage. I like to examine how those past experiences effect current relationships. To me, it makes for the best storytelling. Not only do I enjoy the idea of romance and a happily ever after (HEA), but I love seeing the growth of characters. I love seeing them overcoming their past, because without that happening, they can’t get to that HEA place that we all want to read about.

In getting my characters there, sometimes I make them go through some things that can be uncomfortable for the reader to experience. I hope the end result was worth the moments where you wondered why the hell you continued to read this story. I hope you made it to the end and did so with a smile on your face. If you did, then this acknowledgement goes out to you – the brave reader – who took a chance on a book that didn’t make you comfortable and give you happy giddy feelings throughout. Thanks for sticking out the tough parts to get to the reward at the end!

About the Author

Christine Michelle (aka Christine M. Butler) writes contemporary romance stories as well as paranormal fantasy/romance. She also survives on coffee and her Twizzlers addiction.

She's a mom to four humans (2 girls, 2 boys – most of whom are grown now) along with two fur babies of the canine and feline variety. When she's not doing "mom" stuff or writing books, she enjoys making pretty pictures, going hiking in the woods, or feeding her soul with live music at concerts.