BFF Friday
HOLLAND, MY HEART ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I could not have done this without the support of Arlys Avery, S.F. Henne, Dan del Villano, and N.M. Garrison. Sarah Gribble and Joe Bunting were my excellent coaches. I am deeply grateful to Phoenix for making scrumptious dinners and walking the dogs while I stared at my laptop. Without Emma and Sais, I wouldn’t have gotten past the first draft. My beta readers Beth, Tamatha, Tracey, Lauren, Laura, Emma, Val, and others mean the world to me—thank you for volunteering to rip this to shreds. I am thankful beyond words for the amazing mother gifted to my sister and me—there’s more of my mom in Naomi than in anyone else.
A.J. Hackwith’s The Library of the Unwritten inspired me to complete this novel. I recommend her series to you from the bottom of my slightly less-damned soul.
Meet my write-or-die BFF Arlys Avery!
Arlys and I have been friends since we started working our day jobs together in 2006. Her YA novel Kissing Owen Darcy is what encouraged me to start writing again during the pandemic. When she told me she was writing a YA version of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, I got so excited. (Yes, for her! Writing a novel is a big deal! And she did an amazing job!) It hadn’t occurred to me until that moment that I could write a retelling. 🤦🏻♀️ Why didn’t I think of that.
The first story to pop into my mind was the Bible book of Ruth. And the rest is romance novel history!
Arlys is working on her second YA romance, clean teen rom-com kissing book now. And you can also find her giving sound retirement advice on YouTube!
Meet my beta-reading BFF Sarah Henne!
Sarah and I met while taking an editing class at The Write Practice in 2022. She was working on an epic sci-fi fantasy series that I simply adored. I was working on Holland, My Heart. She gave a ton of valuable advice and much of what you see in Holland’s published version.
Her advice and edits for When Ivy Met Adam were next level. I eventually had to pay her because she gave me so much excellent guidance! Sarah’s experience in the medical world helped me shape Dr. Abs-and-Arms (aka Adam Lopez) into the professional you get in the final version of this novel.
Day 12 of @nicolefrailedits #aprilauthorchallenge ❓QOTD: Who is your (bookish) best friend?
