To amazing fellow authors John Green, Brenda Drake, Sarah Cannon, Jay Coles, Sarah Schmitt, and K.M. Robinson, who shared wisdom, advice, and friendship with me.

I couldn’t write these acknowledgements without also giving a shout out to a few Facebook groups who have been great supporters of my work: TBR and Beyond, YA Fantasy Addicts, Words & Whimsy Book Club, and Page Turners. Thanks to everyone in those groups for their support, especially T.L. Branson, Melanie Parker, Mireille Chartier, Samantha Mercer, Kristi Housman, Felicia Mathews, Candyce Kirk, Linda Harr, Megan Rogers, Haley Wilson Lemmón, Joanne Wills, Brianna Elaine Coffman, Heather Currie, Hannah Woycik, Kahla Leighton, Jordan Fleming, Stephanie Sarac, Sarah Nelson, Tara Bowering, Leanne Jones, Cheyenne Sanders, Megan Jeong, and Courtney Armstrong Pate.

Another shout out to Julia Byers for the great headshot. I’m still using it, so I hope if you’re reading these acknowledgments in public again that you’re not crying this time ;)

To my teachers at Peter Panda preschool, St. Pius X, Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School, Indiana University, and Butler University.

To Frank Richard Stockton, who wrote the short story “The Lady, or The Tiger?” Your infamous cliffhanger ending inspired me to reimagine your tale. Thank you.

To my English teacher, Mrs. Theresa Desautels. You introduced me to this story, and without you, it wouldn’t exist. I can still remember you asking me, “Did she pick the lady or the tiger?” I raised my hand and said that it could have been either, and I’ve been mulling it over ever since. And all these years later, I did my best to give it the ending it always should have had.

To my street team: thank you for all you’ve done and for joining me on this journey.

To some of my most devoted fans: Jordan Edwards and Valérie Pelchat—thanks for your support! And thank you to FangirlPixieJar shop and BookishSignsAndMore on Etsy for creating such lovely pieces of art inspired by my books! Thanks to Elizabeth Sagan (@elizabeth_sagan) for her wonderful Instagram picture of A Touch of Gold!

To everyone who liked my author page, shared my blog, or helped in some other way, you have no idea how much I appreciate it and how much you helped me achieve this dream. A special thank you to several people who really helped me along the way: Michael and Nancy Uslan, Sandi Patel, Kathy Lowry, Lynn Ratkey, Chuck Fanara, Valerie Scherrer, Jodi Clark, and Carrie Sukova.

To my readers, thank you for continuing this journey with me. I couldn’t do this without all of you. I hope you all find the tiger within!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Annie Sullivan grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. She received her Masters degree in creative writing from Butler University. She loves fairy tales, everything Jane Austen, and traveling. Her wanderlust has taken her to every continent, where she’s walked on the Great Wall of China, found four-leaf clovers in Ireland, waddled with penguins in Antarctica, and cage dived with great white sharks in South Africa. You can follow her adventures on Twitter (@annsulliva) or on her blog: anniesullivanauthor.com.