Storm Front (The Charistown Series) (Volume 2) (43 page)

Kyle Marx was suffocating in a hell created for him long
ago. One he couldn’t seem to escape, and didn’t believe he should. A bent man,
he looked for temporary reprieve any way he could get it. What Kyle had yet to
realize was that merely surviving wasn’t good enough, and bending only gets you
so far.

Sometimes, the mold needs to shatter in order for change to
take place…

Sometimes
you have to break, so you can breathe.

Book
3 in the

I REMEMBER WRITING the
acknowledgement page(s) for Thursday Nights and feeling so blessed for both the
people and the MIRACLE that took place in order for that book to have gotten
written and published so …beautifully. Yes, it was difficult learning the
process, that first time around, but in my ignorance to the way things worked,
I was blinded to how hard it would be to not just repeat the process but to
make it even better the second time around. I learned quickly, it was NO
miracle at work the first time. It was AMAZING people helping me to learn the
ropes and this second time…wow…even they rocked my world.

Storm Front WOULD NOT be here in your hands if not for the
people I’m about to mention. Each of them truly made the words appear on the
pages, whether it is through inspiration, editing, support, understanding,
love, and/or laughter. My gratitude is endless…so is this list…sorry ;)

When
Thursday Nights
was first released I was a
basket case. My words, my heart and soul were out—exposed for all the world to
see and it was…well…scary as hell. The only thing that could have been scarier
than people reading my story, was people NOT reading my story. But, thanks to
Brandee
Veltri –
from
Brandee’s Book Endings,
Thursday Nights
kicked
off with a grand blog tour that landed my story on the pages of so many
incredible blogs. Through those blogs, I found people who enjoyed my book and
who I quickly got to know and adore on a much deeper lever. After almost a
year, I can say a lot of the strangers I met through TN’s blog tour, are now
much adored friends.

It would be virtually impossible for me to name all of the
blogs that have supported both
Thursday Nights
and me, as an author,
over the past year. I can say, however, that I am and will be eternally
grateful to every single one of you. You have shared my words, my sales, my
teasers and my general silliness time and time again. I wouldn’t be here if not
for you. There aren’t enough “Thank you’s” for all of the work you do. (Curtsy)

Speaking of teasers… For those of you who follow me on
Facebook, by this point you are probably very familiar with all of my
Charistown teasers. They are sexy, sassy, sophisticated, and they take my
breath away every single time I see them…
Juliana Cabrera
– you are a
magical lady. I give you a mere sentence or two and you find the perfect
picture…every single time!! I don’t know how you do it, but you do. I swear you
wield a magic wand. I don’t want to steal it…I just want to marvel at your
amazing work. Thank you for sharing it with me.

In Storm Front, there was a scene…you know…THAT scene…the
one you probably hated me for. While I didn’t enjoy writing it, I wanted to
make certain all of the medical information was correct. So I sent out a call
on Facebook and who came to my rescue? The extraordinary
Rhonda Raymond
Dennis
! She patiently stayed on the phone with me and answered all of my
questions while allowing me the opportunity to write down her answers. She was
kind and sweet, I got off the phone with her that night feeling confident and
secure that my sad and tragic scene was at least accurate. Thank you, Rhonda!!

I know there is an ever-going question about whether or not
Facebook friends are in fact REAL friends. Some people question how one can
possibly be friends with people they never met before. In the past year, I have
found some of the most wonderful people on Facebook. When you find people with
common interests, desires, and/or needs as you, the friends grow the same as
any other “real” friendships do. They were there when I needed to rant, laugh,
play and cry and when I needed to do it in the comfort of my home behind the
privacy of my screen. I can honestly say, that I don’t know what I would have
done this year without some of my FB friends.

My fellow
Dummies
–
Where would I be
without you? There are too many of you to name, but each of you is special to
me in your own way. I have loved meeting you in person and I can’t wait to meet
the rest of you in the up and coming months.

To the
Tapas
group – It doesn’t matter how
long I knew you, just that I did. It doesn’t matter how much I love you, just
that I do. Your very presence improved my life at a time when I needed it most.
So thank you…I’m grateful and I miss you.

To my Beta Readers – I’m not sure if people understand how
hard it is to be a great beta reader. Being a Beta reader
isn’t
about
liking a pre-published book. It’s about finding every single possible flaw,
inconsistency, character issue, story plot problem, over-all positive and
negative issue with the story. Once they have found those things, they then
need to find the best possible way of informing the author. It’s one thing to
write a negative review on a book already written, it’s another to contact a
writer and tell them all of the things you think they should fix/change in
their story. It isn’t an easy thing to do and we, authors, depend heavily on
our Betas. I can say with great confidence, I have the GREATEST Betas EVER!!!
Thank you,
Cary Bruce
,
Kathy Sizemore
, Ilsa Madden-Mills
Jenn
Wolfel
,
Amy Barber
,
Jessica Sharff
,
Jennie Wurtz
and
Carey
Heywood.

Cary Bruce,
I was so lucky when I found you during
the final days of my TN editing. You came on and offered me amazing
encouragement. (Shaking my head) Poor you, got sucked in for the rest of the
series. You have offered me amazing feedback and wonderful pep talks throughout
this entire process. Your help is so appreciated. I’m thrilled to have you on my
team!

Kathy Sizemore
, you are such a gift. From Lisa’s
Reads to
Thursday Nights
to Las Vegas… meeting you was such a treat. You
are a fun and wonderful woman. You read my words with enthusiasm and
excitement…you offer wonderful feedback and such a great way of looking at
things. I adore you Kathy. Thank you so much for finding me!

Ilsa Madden-Mills
, You my friend have been the
sweetest breath of fresh air. I can’t remember how we met, maybe in one of the
writer’s groups, but I am really freakin’ grateful that we did. Your input on
SF was wonderful. You told me what you loved and gently told me what you
thought would make it better. I’ve grown so fond of our chats, your sweet
southern voice brings a smile to my face each and every day. Thank you for
coming into my life!

Jenn Wolfel,
It has been such a pleasure getting to
know you. I love discussing books with you…your take on the stories is
refreshing and honest, that’s why I was thrilled to include you to my team.
You’ve added so much with your opinions and suggestions. I know I tend to get
lost in my “ho’house” when I’m writing, but you’ve kept tabs on me. You didn’t
let me disappear…thank you, Jenn. I appreciate you.

Amy Barber,
Oh, Amy – How anyone can say that people
can find family on Facebook has never met us. You have given me so much support
in these many months, I can’t begin to explain how I feel about you. So…I’ll
stick to the book. Your time and dedication to all things Charistown has been
flat-out amazing. I feel truly blessed for meeting you. I can’t wait to spend
some quality time with you.

Jessica Sharff,
I met you during TN and I was
thrilled when you wanted to stay on for SF. I knew I was going to run the Beta
process differently the 2
^nd
time around and you were so patient with
me. Jessica, you have no idea how helpful your patience was. When you finally
got the MS, your reaction was priceless. Thank you for sticking by me. I’m
thankful for you.

Jennie Wurtz,
Meeting you in Vegas was great, but
playing Dirty Minds with you on Friday nights…the best!!! So when things
started to get funky and I needed extra help, you were there and I will be
forever grateful. Jennie, your feedback was spot on! I’m thrilled that we
discussed, “REALLY THANKFUL” I think the whole chapter is better thanks to you.
What can I say, I’m REALLY THANKFUL! ;)

Carey Heywood,
Ahhh!!! I love you!! Thank you for
believing in me. You read SF in its early stages and you offered great
feedback. You stood behind me when I wavered and you stood beside me when I
chose to change things you wouldn’t have. You are a true friend. Thank you!

To my Editing Team –
Ryn Hughes
,
Toni Pirrello
,
Ellie Folden, Nicole Tway
, and
Robyn Petrilli, Pamela Moseley and
Gary Patrick—
Wow, people,—I’m not even sure of what to say. This was a
truly a marathon.
Ryn
, your content edits were beyond amazing. You
taught me how to see my work from a different point of view (haha) and I am
grateful. You were right…it all makes perfect sense.
Toni
, you are and
will always be my Pretty-Maker. Seriously, how do you do it?
Ellie
, you
stepped up when I was frantic and you calmed me down. Thank you for giving me
the confidence to know it would be ok.
Robyn
and
Nicole,
You
girls are like my power-play…you came in and kicked ass just before the timer
buzzed.
Pamala
, you saved me from complete hysteria, I will forever be
in your debt.
Gary
, my semi-colon God, without you…my life would be
fiilled with ;;;;;; - There are not enough words to thank the group of you…
Well…there are 107 thousand+ but you know what I mean.

So, the coolest thing happened to me…two days
before
Thursday
Nights published, I got an invitation to sign at the very popular, extremely
anticipated, Naughty Mafia – Sunday Sinners 2013 Signing Event in Las Vegas. I
was in shock. I looked at the email and laughed. I then wrote back to the
sender and told them they sent their letter to the wrong person. Did I want to
go to that event? HELL YES!! But I was nobody. My book wasn’t even released. I
then received another email from
Ellie Lovenbooks
. She explained that
her blog read Thursday Nights and loved it. And they wanted to invite me to
sign during the Sunday signing. I accepted and went on to experience my first
ever author signing. It was the greatest weekend!!! I got to meet so many
talented authors, fantastic bloggers, and incredible readers. I will forever be
grateful and indebted to
Ellie
and to
Lovenbooks.
They changed my
career and my life. Xoxox!

One of the most important things on my “to do” list for Las
Vegas was to finally meet in person my soul sister,
L.b Simmons
. I had
been talking to her since February 2013 almost every day and I was finally
going to get to hug my girl. Never in my life have I met someone who looked
more like me. Not only did we act alike, people kept thinking we were sisters.
What a compliment for me! (She’s pretty gorgeous). L.b Simmons, you came into
my life when it was dark and you shined your light all over it. You make me
laugh, you make me smile and there are not enough words to thank you for all
you have done for me. I love you, I truly do.

When I’m not absorbed in my computer, I actually have a
three dimensional life. I have an amazing
family and incredible friends
.
I don’t tell them enough how much I appreciate them, but I do. They have
supported me through all of my book “stuff”…but there support has been so much
more than a pat on the back or an obligatory question. They are excited for my
stories and interested in what’s coming next. Without them, there would be no
stories. Thank you for your love and support, it doesn’t go unnoticed. I love
you back even harder.

To my little boys
– I know, I’m writing AGAIN. No,
you can’t read over my shoulder because it’s totally inappropriate. That being
said, I love you to pieces and I am super proud of you.

To Jon
…you got all sorts of love at the beginning.
That’s it for you.

To my readers
, While Storm Front is over 107 thousand
words; there aren’t enough words to describe the heartfelt gratitude I feel
toward you. I am blessed. Every review, every PM or message, every “like” has
warmed my heart. You truly have no idea how your voices have rocked my world. Thank
you.

XO,

Lisa Paul