The Belief in Angels (54 page)

Thank you to Alexis Masters, one of my angels, for choosing me amidst a sea of writers to acknowledge with her scholarship. You inspired me in a terrifically uninspired time and gave me the courage to continue writing.

Thanks to Jan Graham and Robin Wright, who offered me their lovely home to dream and write. Additionally, I would like to express my appreciation for the deliciously unique creations at Eclipse Chocolate Bar and Bistro that I enjoyed during WOTCM meetings and while escaping the heat of our A/C-less bungalow. Many early chapters were also written with the buttery smell of pancakes wafting upwards toward the writer’s loft at Claire De Lune while sipping chai lattes and savoring too many freshly baked pastries.

My grateful thanks to San Diego Writers, Ink, which is the ultimate place to create. Thanks to my SDWI teachers, Tammy Greenwood, Drucilla Campbell, and especially Judy Reeves, whose magical muse inspirations are woven into passages of this novel. Judy’s book,
A Writer’s Book of Days,
has inspired a legion of artists I am proud to join.

Thanks to the incredibly well-connected Liz Morrison, who got me tuned to the Writers, Ink station at the beginning of this book’s journey to completion.

My gratitude and thanks to Laurel Corona, whose captivating writing and generous mentoring inspired me to finish … and finish … and finish again!

Thanks to my fellow writer and superb editorial consultant, Ellen Orleans, for sharing your talents, time, wise suggestions, and encouragement.

Thank you to Holli Berman, Cantorial Soloist in Boulder, Colorado’s Congregation Har HaShem, for her kind “rabbinical” help, and for sharing the manuscript with Nanette Mannheimer, whose wisdom and suggestions as a Holocaust survivor and Yiddish speaker were invaluable.

Thank you to my initial editor, Lesley Kellas Payne, who whipped the novel into shape in record time.

Deepest thanks to the She Writes Press team of talented women. Special thanks to Krissa Lagos, my editor, whose kind enthusiasm buoyed me and whose sharp eyes pulled this novel to polished. Thanks to Brooke Warner, my publisher, for her continued, generous, masterful guidance and for being the best coach and cheering squad a writer could ask for. Also, thanks to the Ingram team for your fortunate timing in partnership and support.

Thank you to Kara, my dear friend, who continues to get me there and bring me back, like a soldier.

Thank you to my talented son, Jaime, and my dear family and amazing friends, old and new. Your support has been my reason. I love you.

Most of all, thank you to Jo-El, the sweet love of my life and my chief patron.

RAISED ON A tiny, New England peninsula, J. Dylan Yates pursued her BA from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The Belief in Angels,
Dylan’s debut novel, was written over the course of many years while she attempted a number of BA-related jobs, including: teaching, corporate training, real estate, nursing, interior design, parenting, and reluctant housewifery.

Dylan’s next novel,
Szaja’s Story,
focused on the character created in
The Belief in Angels,
invites the reader back to the Ukranian orchards of Szaja Trautman’s tragic childhood, tracing his ultimate journey to America via the desperate Ukranian refugee work camps of the ‘20s, his amazing survival of both the Majdanek death camp and the torpedoing of refugees aboard the Mefkura, and his fascinating experiences in the post-war Parisian couture houses.

Prior to publication,
The Belief in Angels
won the Alexis Masters Scholarship Award at the February 2012 San Francisco Writers Conference.

Dylan worked with Boulder County’s Voices for Children program as a CASA volunteer for 15 years and now volunteers with the Big Sister program in San Diego. She lives in San Diego with her partner and a talking cat. Her son, Jaime, is a professional musician.

To arrange a speaking engagement for J. Dylan Yates, please contact [email protected]

Stay in touch:
www.jdylanyates.com
.

She Writes Press is an independent publishing company founded to serve women writers everywhere. Visit us at
www.shewritespress.com
.

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