Bringing Evan and Paige to you was both my greatest joy and single most challenging experience of my life. Paige’s plight brought up a lot of old fears—some of which are still quite current in our lives. The emotion and mortality in this story was quite real to me, because much of it came from real life events. The fictional ride I took you all on had a lot of truth in it.
The first person I have to thank is my husband, James. He relived some of the darkest moments of our lives to make sure I portrayed everything accurately—including the terrible things he went through alone. Thank you for always believing in me, and helping me tell the best story that I could. I’ve loved you for most of my life, thank you for being my first fan. And, I will admit this in print for all the world to see, you are one hell of a beta reader.
To my mother, the real-life Tess. You did the toughest job in the world alone and never look like you broke a sweat. Being a mother now, I realize how everything I went through, you did, too. Thank you for always fighting for me, even now.
To my son, John. You were the miracle and gift I always wanted, even though I almost gave up hope. I love you more than all the stars in the sky, my Lego-obsessed superhero.
To my editor, Brenda Letendre. My great teacher, therapist, and friend. Thank you for loving my characters as much as I do, and helping me make them the best they could be. I’ve learned so much from you, even from the random texts that start, “Hey, beautiful editor, question for you . . .” Your patience for me knows no bounds and I am blessed to have found you.
To my betas:
Roxie, you are definitely the Beta Fairy. You have an unbelievable eye, and I am so thankful for your amazing talent to see the things that no one else does. More than being a fantastic beta, you are a wonderful friend. You keep my head on straight and give me more spit takes than anyone I’ve ever known. I’m blessed to have you in my life.
Christine Mateo, you’re an amazing and supportive friend. You encourage me every day, and always have an ear to listen—even when I complain about the same things over and over again. Thank you for always having my back, and caring enough to read my words. When you yelled at me, I knew I was on track . . . hehe.
Jena Campbell, I’m at a loss how to thank you. You dug deep into Only You, showing me all the ways to make it better and at the same time telling me how much you loved it. Thank you for the guidance, the teasers and for being such an amazing person. Sorry I made you cry in the closet.
Shannon Daniels, I thank Lucas for bringing you into my life. Thank you for helping me make Evan a sweet but tough alpha and for being such an amazing friend and supporter by both beta and proofreading.
Laura Murphy, my sister from another mister. I could write three paragraphs of thank yous. Not only are you a kick ass beta with an eagle eye, you are my sounding board and, quite often, reside on the receiving end of all of my freak outs. Thank you for making Only You accurate and perfect as it could be. You are going to blow all of us out of the water when you hit publish.
Tina Lynne, you are a wonderful friend and, whether you like it or not, now a lifelong beta. Thank you for making the story that meant so much to me shine and for your amazing support from before day one.
Tabitha Wilbanks and Paula Genereau, thank you for taking the time to do a full read through, and making my blood pressure go down with your enthusiasm of how much you loved the story. Tab, you are always there for me and a huge cheerleader. That means more than you’ll ever know.
J.A. DeRouen, you are probably one of the best people that I ever met, and who I hope to become when I grow up, both as a person and as a writer. Thank you for taking so much time to help me tighten up Only You, and for being such a great friend to me every single day. I don’t know what I would do without your support. I love you forever, Cajun Queen.
Gia Riley, you’ve been by my side from the start, and that means a lot. Although you fell hard for the character that didn’t make it, thank you for giving me the push to finish something that meant a lot to me. Our friendship and daily chats calm my nerves.
BL Berry, I seriously don’t know where to begin. When you reached out to me a year ago after I made my author page, I didn’t know what an amazing friend I had found. You support me, cheer me on, and promote me to the masses, and for Only You, gave me the excitement and motivation I needed when I wanted to burn the damn thing. Knowing you loved Evan and Paige is what made me keep going when it got too personal and painful.
To my friends:
Faith Andrews, my friend and mentor always. Thank you for always sticking by me, and always getting me. I still hope to be half the writer that you are someday.
Kristy Love, we may have bonded over misery, but you keep me laughing all day long. Thank you for your passionate broken sentences, and for always being able to make me see what’s important and what’s not. You’re a true sister. #MS4Lyfe
Kimberly Rose, Mia Kayla, and Autumn Grey, three talented women who are always there to lend me a listening ear or offer their support. Amazing how you can feel so close to people that you’ve never met face to face.
Ann Marie, Daina, Millie, and Candie, I may not see you as much as I’d like, but always feel you there. Thank you for loving and supporting me all these years. True friends are hard to find, but I hit the jackpot.
Natalie, thank you for being the real life inspiration for the perfect bestie. Phrases like ‘stuck on stupid’ were meant to be in a book. Thanks for always being my kick in the ass and giving it to me straight, even when I didn’t want to hear it.
To #indiechicksrock, an awesome group of women with tremendous talent and heart. I’m so thankful to be a part of this group and excited for what is in store for us.
To the Rose Garden, I love each and every one of you and am so grateful for your support. This group is my absolute favorite online place to me with the book talks, the eye candy, the excitement over what I have cooking. It’s my happy place, and I love that it’s expanding.
To Ella Stewart, who took an interest in me way before I pressed publish. Thank you for your constant support. You are a true light in this book world and I can’t thank you enough for sticking by me.
To Lara Ross Petterson of Cool Hookers Book Club, Kelly and Tanya of Sugar Shack Book Blog, and all the bloggers and readers who took a chance on me in the first place, both with Always You and Only You. To write characters that are loved by even one person is an immeasurable high. For every review posted, recommendation passed along, and message that the words I wrote moved someone, grateful doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel.
Thank you for reading Evan and Paige’s story. I’m working on giving Ellie the happiness she deserves in 2016. I take pride in writing everyday type characters. We all deserve that second chance, no matter who we are, and I hope my stories give you that glimmer of hope.
Stephanie is the author of the Second Chances series, stories based in New York City about second chances at love. She lives in the Bronx, New York with her superhero-obsessed husband and son.
Her day job is marketing, but she always has a story in her head. This lifelong New Yorker lives for Starbucks, book boyfriends, and 80s rock. Her voice often gets mistaken for a mob wives trailer.
After making up stories her entire life in various journals, she took her fingers to the keyboard on a dare from a friend and wrote her first novel in 2015.
She’s excited to finally bring the characters she’s been dreaming about to life!
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