Evelyn Fazio, my wonderful editor and now a treasured friend, who not only allowed me to keep my own voice and vision, but helped me enhance it, drawing on what was already there and making it more visible, and who offers me such incredible support and encouragement, understanding not only the writer in me but also the survivor; Andrea Somberg, my amazing agent, who gave
Hunted
multiple readings and fantastic, detailed, thoughtful feed-back which I highly value and which helped spur me on to create the best book I could, and who also gave me encouragement;
Julie Schoerke, my lovely book publicist, who believed in me even before
Scars
was published, and who has offered me not only incredible book publicity and savvy awareness and thinking, but also warm friendship and kindness; Critique group members over the years for reading various incarnations of
Hunted
, especially Anna Kerz, Carolyn Beck, Anne Carter, Kristyn Dunnion, Erin Thomas, Karen Krossing, Karen Rankin, and most especially Lena Coak-368
ley, Erin Thomas, and Nancy Prasad for both reading incarnations of
Hunted
and for writerly support and encouragement. Thanks also to Ellen Hopkins, Libba Bray, Gail Giles, Nancy Werlin, Kathlene Jeffrie Johnson, Annette Curtis Clause, Lois Duncan, Wendy Orr, Peter Carver, Bar-bara Greenwood, Kathy Stinson, and many others for believing in me as a writer;
The many readers of
Scars
who wrote me to tell me how much they loved
Scars
and how it helped them; your wonderful letters are nourishment for my soul; The many incredible book bloggers who reviewed
Scars
so glowingly and let me know how much they liked it, and who helped me get the word out about
Scars
. I am grateful to you all!
The wonderful, incredible YA book and writer community on Twitter, including Maureen Johnson and everyone who was a part of #YASaves, who supported and encouraged me when
Scars
was challenged, both in a library and in the
WSJ
; your support made a huge difference for me, helping to turn something that could have been negative into something very positive. Thank you!
Jo Beggs, my dearest and oldest friend, who always makes me feel loved, and knows both the darkest places I have been and the happiest;
Gail Fisher-Taylor, who provided the first real safety and love I ever had, and believed in my memories and in me as a person, and encouraged my healing. You gave me so much!
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To my friends, Hilary Cameron and Andrea Medovarski for always believing in me as a writer.
Special thanks to the Ontario Arts Council which awarded me a grant to work on this project, and greatly helped provide the time and ease to work on it without much stress around money. You provide an incredible, much needed service to many Canadian writers. Thank you!
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