The Woodlands (34 page)

Firstly I’d like to thank my husband Michael for being ever patient and supportive of probably the craziest thing I’ve ever attempted. Even though the only feedback you ever gave me was, ‘it’s good’, it kept me going when I doubted myself, because you never did. My children Lennox, Rosalie and Emaline deserve special credit for putting up with a somewhat absent mother and really, you three were the inspiration for this story in so many ways.

Thanks to my sister Kristen for being the guinea pig who had to read to first version of this book. And for answering all my annoying texts in the middle of the night, asking you unreasonably for feedback on each chapter immediately after you’d read them.

Chloe Lim you are a legend. Thank you for editing The Woodlands so thoroughly, removing all my unnecessary commas and adding all the ones I missed. Your support and gentle pushing in the right direction helped make it what it is now.

To the members of Clean Teen Publishing: I never thought publishing a book could be this fun! Thank you Rebecca
Gober, Courtney Nuckels, Marya Heiman, Dyan Brown and Cynthia Shepp for believing in The Woodlands and taking on this first time Aussie author who decided to write about a post apocalyptic Russia.

Finally, I am eternally grateful to my Beta readers. Your amazing support, generous feedback and honesty gave me the confidence to pursue publishing The Woodlands and now, here we are!

Daughter
 of a Malaysian nuclear physicist father and an Australian doctor mother, Lauren Nicolle Taylor was expected to follow the science career path. And she did, for a while, completing a Health Science degree with Honors in obstetrics and gynecology. But there was always a niggling need to create which led to many artistic adventures. 

 
When Lauren hit her thirties, she started throwing herself into artistic endeavors, but was not entirely satisfied.  The solution: Complete a massive renovation and sell their house so they could buy their dream block of land and build. After selling the house, buying the block and getting the plans ready, the couple discovered they had been misled and the block was undevelopable. This left her family of five homeless.

 
Taken in by Lauren’s parents, with no home to renovate and faced with a stressful problem with no solution, Lauren found herself drawn to the computer. She sat down and poured all of her emotions and pent up creative energy into writing The Woodlands.

Family, a multicultural background and a dab of medical intrigue are all strong themes
 in her writing. Lauren took the advice of ‘write what you know’ and twisted it into a romantic, dystopian adventure! Visit Lauren at her website:
www.LaurenNicolleTaylor.com
.

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