The question is, why?
What he doesn’t know is that this privileged socialite isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. If the man of my dreams is the end result, I’m ready to put in the work to make him mine.
My name is Mia Brannigan, and this is my story.
A Lover’s Lament holds a very special place in my heart for many reasons, but mostly because it’s a story that I never thought I’d see come to fruition. Now that it has, I have a TON of people to thank for helping me get it there.
First and foremost, I have to thank my husband, Tom. The endless amount of support and encouragement you gave me while writing this novel is truly amazing. Thank you for making sure the house stayed clean, the laundry got done, and the kids were fed. Thank you for taking over nighttime duty so that I could stay up late and write. But most of all, thank you for not freaking the hell out when I showed you a picture of my co-writer. Any other man wouldn’t have handled it with the grace and beauty that you have. Not only have you supported me through this, but you’ve supported BT as well—he just doesn’t know it. You are amazing and wonderful, and I’ll never know what I did to deserve you. I love you to the moon and back.
Taylor Urruela, what can I say? Thank you doesn’t seem like enough, so I’m going to try really hard to find the right words. When I reached out to you last winter, I was pissed off … do you remember that? I read one of your short stories and I said “you can’t end it like that!” That one message turned into several more and eventually led to me sharing an outline of a book—this book. Instantly, you latched on to this story like it was your baby too. We plotted, we spitballed and we worked our asses off for nine long months, stretching and molding this story into something that we could be proud of. And let me tell you, I am DAMN proud of this book. It wasn’t an easy journey, but believe me when I say that there isn’t another writer on this earth that I would’ve rather taken this journey with than you. Thank you for loving this story as much as I do.
S.G. Thomas … oh lordy, here we go. You are still my #1 buddy reader, even though I’m fairly certain we never did finish that book! You are so much more than my editor, you are one of my best friends, my confidant, and the person I turn to when I need any sort of encouragement or advice. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you are amazing and fantastic, and I’ll never be able to repay you for all that you’ve done for me. I love you hard, girl … even when you make fun of my misuse of Biblical figures ;)
A big huge thank you to my friend and proofreader, Alexis, with Indie Girl Proofs. Thank you for taking us on in such short notice. We appreciate absolutely everything you’ve done for us.
Whitney Barbetti, there aren’t enough words in the English language to accurately describe what your friendship means to me. You spent countless hours talking with me and plotting with me over A Lover’s Lament, and I am forever grateful that you are a part of my life. Plus, you are the greatest pillow in the entire world ;)
Lex Martin and Michelle Lynn, the two of you have been huge supporters of this collaboration from day one, and I am beyond lucky to have both of you in my corner. Thank you for the endless amount of messages and encouragement.
To my beta readers, you know who you are. Thank you for all of your feedback and honesty while reading A Lover’s Lament. We couldn’t have gotten the book where it is today without you. XOXO
I’ve totally saved the best for last … To all of the readers and bloggers, THANK YOU for all of the support that you’ve given to BT and me. Thank you for wanting this book, for begging for this book, and for all of the messages you’ve sent us. We are so glad to finally get it into your hands, and we truly hope that you have enjoyed reading it. We are eternally grateful for all of the sharing and pimping that you’ve done for A Lover’s Lament. THANK YOU for absolutely everything you’ve done, day in and day out, and thank you for making this book community so wonderful.
First and foremost, thank you God for all the incredible blessings you’ve given me in this life. Through some of the hardest things I’ve ever had to deal with, things I thought would break me, you stood strong, always there to steer me in the right direction.
To my family, Pops, Britto, Brad, and Sean … what a ride it’s been. We’ve all had our own challenges we’ve had to overcome and we haven’t always been there to help each other out, but the one thing we’ve always had, the thing that’s remained forever unchanged in my heart, is the fact that I love you guys more than I could ever put into words. I wouldn’t be where I am today without you all.
To my extended family, my VETSports guys: Josh Schichtl, Rob Somers, Chris Krutzsch, Jeremy Fore, Randy Tharp, Rob Robichaux, Andrew Johnson, Bryan Belcher, Karl Dorman, Jason Wills, and whoever I may have left out that has had my back, helped support the things I believe in the most, and given everything for this organization I love so much. You guys mean the world to me.
To Michael Stokes for believing in me, for giving me a chance, and being a true friend. I value your friendship so much. You’ve given me more than you could ever know.
To my book family, Randy Sewell, Eric Battershell, Golden Czemak, and the authors who had faith in me, Lexi Buchanan, Harper Sloan, Hadley Quinn, Kristen Proby, Sloan Johnson, Heidi McLaughlin, and Jennifer Kacey. Thank you for choosing me to represent your work. I value our experiences together so much and hold you all in the highest regard.
To S.G. Thomas, our editor, for taking my confusing, often scrambled prose and making it a million times better. I have learned so much from you!
To my co-author, KL Grayson, thank you for bringing this storyline to me, and thank you for taking a chance on a virgin author and creating this beautiful story with me. I appreciate all nine months that we spent bringing Katie and Devin together. I look forward to many more.
Finally, last but certainly not least, thank you to all my fans and supporters out there. You all are my lifeline. I couldn’t be here or do any of this without the tremendous amount of support you give me. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the love and support you’ve given me over these past nine months. I love each and every one of you, and I fight harder for the things I believe in because of you.
K.L. Grayson resides in a small town outside of St. Louis, MO. She is entertained daily by her extraordinary husband, who will forever inspire every good quality she writes in a man. Her entire life rests in the palms of six dirty little hands, and when the day is over and those pint-sized cherubs have been washed and tucked into bed, you can find her typing away furiously on her computer. She has a love for alpha-males, brownies, reading, tattoos, sunglasses, and happy endings…and not particularly in that order.
BT Urruela was a US Army Infantryman for six and a half years. He was wounded in Baghdad on October 22nd, 2006 resulting in the loss of his leg below the knee. He medically retired in 2011 and went on to form the veteran sports non-profit VETSports, to become a motivational speaker, personal trainer and cover model, and A Lover’s Lament is his first endeavor as an author.