Burn Out (25 page)

T
HEY SAY IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD, AND
I
’D LIKE
to thank the small village of people who helped me to shape this book into its final version. First, I have to thank my fabulous critique partners who saw something special in the mess that was the earliest draft of this book: Lacey J. Edwards, Valerie Kemp, Jeanne Ryan, Niki Schoenfeldt, Kelly Dyksterhouse, Joanne Zakula, and Mary Louise Sanchez. I’d also like to give a shout-out to the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, especially Dr. Gerald Cecil, for help with all things astrophysics. As I took great liberties with the information given to me, all errors of science are entirely mine.

The guidance from my rock star agent, Jessica Regel,
and my awesome editor, Greg Ferguson, was invaluable in the final stages of this book, and I’m so grateful to be working with such talented people.

A huge thanks to my parents, siblings, and friends whose encouragement helped me throughout this crazy book-writing process. Finally, this book wouldn’t exist at all without the unending love and support of my amazing husband and two always-inspiring kiddos.