The Righteous and The Wicked (37 page)

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Acknowledgements

As I write this, I am overcome with gratitude. A great deal of work was put into this novel by many people and I’m indebted to all of them for their generous gifts of time and insight.

First, I have to thank every single reader for taking this journey. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it.

There are several people who have invested themselves in this book: Blerina, thank you for loving Stormy from day one. Kristin C. Z., you have been a fan since the first word. Thank you. Jada D’Lee, thank you for all your amazing artistic contributions, especially the cover of this book. You have always been a great friend to me. Sophie, Rebecca, Blair, Jamie, Liz, Donna—thank you for your work on the earliest versions of this story. Kiki, thanks for the plum.

Many thanks to my fellow authors who have supported me, I love being a part of the community that comes with this genre. To everyone at TWCS, thank you for welcoming me and for teaching me.

My editor, Wendy Depperschmidt, deserves a gargantuan amount of credit for molding this raw story into something lucid and beautiful. I would also like to thank Christine M for her work as copy editor and Andrea for her work as proofreader. I am blessed to have been a part of such a great team. Thank you.

To my incredible husband—I couldn’t ask for a better partner to go through life with—thank you for your infinite patience and for believing in me.

To my family, I love you more than you know.

About the Author

April Emerson grew up in rural upstate New York, and moved to New York City after graduating from college with a degree in Literature. As a nature lover, living in the city was a culture shock, but she soon began to enjoy being surrounded by so much energy. Submerged in perpetual crowds, April developed a fondness for people-watching, which inspired her to start writing. Drawn to both the light and dark of humanity, she strives to tell sexy and romantic stories with exquisitely complex characters. When she isn’t writing, she loves listening to music or reading a good book, with a glass of wine.

Notes

1.
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

2.
Paraphrased from the Bible

3.
Your beauty is a gift to me. Your lips are heavenly, your skin so soft.

4.
I adore you.

5.
“I Am Not Yours” by Sara Teasdale.

6.
You’re the one for me.

7.
I love being with you like this.

8.
I’m not leaving because . . . I love you, Emma.

9.
Only you.

10.
I love you so much.

11.
Only you, my love.

12.
Yes, my love.

13.
My beautiful.

14.
My angels.

15.
Native American Wedding Blessing.

16.
You are the woman of my life.