Unlocked (12 page)

“You’ll just have to be my Evan,” she said in response.

“With pleasure.”

And then, step by step, he drew her into the center of the room for a kiss—and another one—and another one after that. She took hold of his arms, and she didn’t let go.

Courtney Milan’s debut novel was published in 2010 to instant critical acclaim. Her books have received starred reviews from
Publishers Weekly
and
Booklist
. Her second book was a
Publishers Weekly
Best Book of 2010. She has been a RITA® finalist and an RT Reviewer’s Choice nominee for Best First Historical Romance.

Courtney lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, a medium-sized dog, and an attack cat. Before she started writing historical romance, she experimented with various occupations: computer programming, dog-training, scientificating… Having given up on being able to do any of those things, she’s taken to heart the axiom that those who can’t do, teach. When she’s not reading (lots), writing (lots), or sleeping (not enough), she can be found in the vicinity of a classroom.

Find out more about her by visiting her website at
http://www.courtneymilan.com
, following her on twitter at
http://twitter.com/courtneymilan
, or liking her Facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/courtneymilanauthor
.

Tessa Dare, Carey Baldwin, and Leigh Dennis heard about this novella from its inception and encouraged me to write it. Tessa listened to me whine on chat and threatened me with fairy wings. Carey, Leigh, Amanda Collins, and Elyssa Papa read early versions and provided feedback. Tessa, Kelly Gay, Susan Gee Heino, and Kris Kennedy read later versions and helped prevent complete meltdowns. Franzeca Drouin’s painstaking editing then saved me from myself.

Kristin Nelson, my agent, was helpful, brilliant, and supportive—which is not even slightly surprising to anyone who knows her. The agency staff—Anita Mumm and Lindsey Mergens—all helped me gather the information I needed to decide where to head with this.

Martha Trachtenberg was a godsend of a copy editor. My proofers caught a bunch of embarrassing mistakes: thank you to Lynn Funk, Anne Victory, Lisa Rusczyk Hazard, and Nicholas Ambrose. Nicholas served double-duty as an all-round Brit-picker—so double thanks. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Guido Henkel and Nadia Lee for their meticulous formatting guides, which helped me produce a professional quality e-book.

And then there are the people that keep me sane—the Vanettes, the Peeners, the Pixies, and the Authors for Authors and Destination Debut loops—who helped write back cover copy and vet covers.

Finally, I know it’s the fad to dis traditional publishers, but I’ve never been one of the cool kids. I want to thank
HQN
Books and Margo Lipschultz, for all that they have done for me. I learned a great deal about how to produce a professional product by working with the entire team there. I would not be where I am today without them.