Karsten Knight - Afterglow

This goes doubly so for series authors, who after years of avoiding basic arithmetic, decide to dabble in the black magic that is calculus with nonsensical equations that look like:

If x people read my first book,

And only y % of those readers pick up the sequel,

And only 1/ z of those readers bother with the third one,

Then how many marshmallows can I fit in my mouth at once?

But sooner or later you have to stop worrying about who’s not reading your book, and focus on the readers who have, and are, and will. Which is why I’d like to thank just a handful of the readers who have made this experience so rewarding, particularly Rachel Clarke, Cindy Thomas, Alexandra Cenni, Kari Olson, and everyone who has stuck with Ashline Wilde until the bitter end. Every tweet, message, e-mail, review, and carrier pigeon you’ve sent my way has gone neither unnoticed nor unappreciated.

To my favorite bookstore owner, Peter Glassman. If I could build a pillow fort and live inside one bookstore in this world, it would be Books of Wonder.

To my new editor, Kristin Ostby. It’s a somewhat thankless job to seize the reins of a trilogy on the third and final installment. Somehow, in the course of one summer, you were able to absorb all three books and still dazzle me with incisive, contemplative insight into my characters that had never occurred to me before—and I’ve lived with these characters for four years now. Your fresh perspectives have made me a better storyteller, and for that, I thank you.

To my former editor, Courtney Bongiolatti. I have missed your wit and wisdom these last few months. But more than anything, I missed the opportunity to gloat when the Giants didn’t make the playoffs.

To Bernard Ozarowski and Lili Corn, for your hospitality in letting me crash with you and your seven hundred cats in the Lower East Side whenever I have an author event in New York City.

To Steve Dicheck, who you would think is my publicist based solely on the number of times he has whipped out his iPhone to show random strangers the eBook of Wildefire .

To Lydia Finn, who you would think is my publicist because she, in fact, is.

To Justin Chanda, Mary Kole, Laura Antonacci, Colin Riley, and all the hardworking bookworms at Simon & Schuster, Simon & Schuster Canada, and Andrea Brown Literary Agency who have given me the experience of a lifetime.

To Mom, Dad, Erin, Kelsey, Ray, and Victoria, for continually putting up with me even though my adolescence has clearly spilled over into my late twenties.

At the time that I’m writing this, it’s been exactly 997 days since I got a phone call from New York that changed my life. I only hope that the next 997 days make for a formidable sequel.