Brodi Ashton: Evertrue

Jack shrugged. “After everything we’ve been through, I don’t think I’ll ever have a desire to artificially mess with my emotions again.”

He leaned back on my bed and put his hands behind his head. I fell on top of him and nestled my nooks in his crannies. His heart beat softly against my ear.

“We have a lot to do when you get home,” Jack said.

“We have time to do it.”

He sighed. “Time.” He said the word as if it was something we’d fought for. Something we’d risked our lives for.

Time.

“I love you,” I said.

He kissed my head. “I’m Ever Yours.”

And I was Ever His.

Thank you . . .

. . . to my extraordinary editor, Kristin Daly Rens. Somehow she manages to take the wadded-up clumps of yarn I throw at her and help me weave them into a beautiful sweater. I can’t believe we made it to the end, K!

. . . to the entire team at Balzer + Bray, and HarperCollins, for giving me the most beautiful covers, the best copyedits, the most brilliant feedback, and the most support a girl could ask for. And I asked for a lot. Special thanks to Caroline Sun, Alessandra Balzer, Donna Bray, Emilie Polster, Sara Sargent, Brady the camera guy who made my book trailers, and all of the other brilliant minds at the office! I know I’m leaving people out. But it’s the third book, and my brain is kaput.

. . . to my fabulous agent, the incomparable Michael Bourret. I love you, even through our differences, like your fondness for rare meat and my love of violence. You keep me grounded and yet you’re always there to give me a lift when I need it. No words.

. . . to the rest of the team at Dystel & Goderich, especially Lauren Abramo. You are the gateway to the world for the Everneath series. I love you, girl!

. . . to the person who helped me with that one scene on that one page (306). Without you, so many things wouldn’t exist, including that one page. Okay, maybe that page would be there, but still, it wouldn’t be as squishy. . . .

. . . to my loyal, brilliant, extraordinary, miraculous writers’ group. Providence led me to you, and I will never be able to repay him. (Or is Providence a her?) Sara Bolton, Kimberly Webb Reid, Emily Wing Smith, and Valynne Maetani Nagamatsu.

. . . to my writing community, local and national, and international—okay, let’s just say worldwide—especially those who have literally held the pieces of my brain together, like Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, Tahereh Mafi, Veronica Rossi, and so many others.

. . . to countless friends, neighbors, bloggers, acquaintances . . . hell, even enemies. Thank you. Not sure what I’m thanking the enemies for, but I don’t want to leave anyone out. You know who you are! (The friends do. Okay, the enemies probably know who they are too.)

. . . to my family, extended and immediate (Mom, Erin, Dave, Gublers, Johnsons, other Johnsons, Frank and Kathleen, Ellingsons, Otts, Jacksons, Ashtons, Ashton clot . . . etc.) for reading countless bad drafts and for your never-ending support and love.

. . . to Sam, Carter, and Becks. My boys. You have put up with so much. For reals. I mean, the house is never clean, the food is never cooked, in fact, there never really is any food, the clothes are strewn about . . . I forgot where I was going with this. My point must have been buried under piles of laundry. Thank you for welcoming me every time I come home, and acting sad when I leave.

. . . finally, the most important thank-you to you readers. Without you, there’d be a book, but if a book falls in the forest and there’s no one there to hear it, does it really go ker-plunk ?

What I mean to say is, I love you, dear reader. Yes, you.

BRODI ASHTONis also the author of Everneath and Everbound . She received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Utah and a master’s degree in international relations from the London School of Economics. She has an active following on her blog, which can be found at www.brodiashton.blogspot.com. Brodi lives in Utah with her family.

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