Miranda Johnson—I hope you know how special you are to me, because I’m not sure words can even properly describe it. Thank you for helping me through this. Thank you for talking me down when I just wanted to give up. Thank you for letting me into your head and digging up issues that I know weren’t easy for you. The way you helped me with Aspen’s character that truly made her her. Thanks for answering all my art questions and understanding what “the thingy that you mix paint on” meant. Thanks for being genuine and honest and someone I can vent to. And most of all, thanks for everything and more that you do to assist me. I couldn’t have done this without you!

Staci Brillhart—You, my quirky best friend, are one of a kind. I can’t tell you how much I love you without sounding like a love-stricken stalker, but I think you know that I love you dearly and can’t go a day without talking to you at some point. You’ve made me stronger, you’ve pushed me, you constantly encourage me. And I know you’re someone I can always rely on. You’re so special to me, and I feel so fortunate to call you my friend! I love you!

Angie McKeon—You are one of the most sweetest and genuine people I know. You have that kind of heart that is rare to find in people these days. Your love for books and authors are only a couple of the reasons I knew I wanted to be your friend. The way you encourage and support people speaks true to the kind of person you are, and I want to thank you for being that person. I’ve loved getting to know you and knowing that I can trust and count on you. Your passion for reading is what drew me to you and your blog and I absolutely adore how much you love books. When you love a book, you love it hard! Thank you for being you and helping me last minute! I appreciate everything you’ve done for me!

My beta team—I’ve been very fortunate to find great readers to beta and help me along the way! Thank you for always willing to read last minute and answer my questions. Your support for authors doesn’t go unnoticed. Thanks for all you do and supporting an indie author like me :)

Brie Burgess—BRIE! I can’t say enough about you. I love your passion for books and alpha males. I love everything about you, and I’m so glad I found a reader like you! Thank you for beta reading, helping me tear it apart, and giving my heroes the best hash tags ever!

Christine Stanley—You’re my bitch and always will be. Okay, it’s probably the other way around. But regardless, I love having you in my life. Thanks for all the work you do, the long hours, and networking you do for your PR company. You’re a rock star and I hope you know how proud of you I am. Thanks for always being here for me. You’re pretty cool.

Lauren Perry—Thank you for the gorgeous cover pic! Her ass is like whoa.

Sommer Stein—Thanks for being the best cover designer ever. I always love working with you!

Rogena Mitchell-Jones—#12 and counting! YAY! Thank you for being my editor from the start. We make a pretty good team! :)

Brooke Cumberland Crew & TBR Group—It’s always such a pleasure to chat with you ladies! I love having a personal relationship with readers and getting to know you. This is seriously the best job ever and your support makes everything so worth it. Thank you!

To all the authors that read PTL early—Thank you for being excited to read Aspen & Morgan’s story! This community is filled with so many amazing people. I feel so blessed to have found you and be able to connect with you. The friendships I’ve made in the indie community have been the most wonderful thing.

Bloggers—To those that read PTL early, thank you for taking the time to read and review! I love networking with you all and forming lifelong relationships. I love that your passion for books is driven solely for the love of reading. Thank you, thank you, thank you! And thank you to those bloggers that always share stuff for me—sales, new releases, cover releases, blitz, etc. THANK YOU for all you do! It doesn’t go unnoticed, I swear!

Erin Spencer—You will forever owe me, but I love you anyway.

I’m very blessed, and I’ll never take that for granted. After my husband lost his leg four years ago, I’ve struggled with depression. Once I started working from home, the anxiety followed. Some days are worse than others, but for the most part, it’s controlled. However, I definitely can’t say I do this alone. My husband is the most supportive person on my side. Although he hasn’t read any of my books, he’s constantly lifting me up and telling me how proud he is. And sometimes, that’s all a girl needs to hear :) Thank you babe for always having my back!

I’ve also very fortunate to have a blended family that works really well together. My mom and dad are my heroes. They’ve been apart for 17 years, but still attend family dinners and spending time together just to be able to see my daughter and me. They’ve been my role models in everything I do and even though they probably won’t read this (unless I show it to them, of course) I owe them so much credit for helping me in my career. My mom is a neat freak and cleans my house when I’m deep in the cave. They both take turns taking my daughter overnight and watching her while I attend signings. They run errands for me when I just can’t leave my desk. But most of all, they support everything I do. So Mom and Dad, thank you for setting the bar. You two amaze me every day, and I know I couldn’t do this without you.

Vienna—You’re almost 5 years old and will never be allowed to read this, but I want you to know how much you’ve changed my life. Everything I do, I do for you. I love you, even though you drive me insane most days.  But thank you for giving me a reason to get out of bed every day (No, literally…you come into my room and wake me up demanding breakfast). I love you baby girl!

SNEAK PEEK AT BRITTAINY C. CHERRY’S UPCOMING RELEASE

The Air He Breathes

Coming September 25, 2015

I was warned about Tristan Cole.

“Stay away from him,” people said.

“He’s cruel.”

“He’s cold.”

“He’s damaged.”

It’s easy to judge a man because of his past. To look at Tristan and see a monster.

But I couldn’t do that. I had to accept the wreckage that lived inside of him because it also lived inside of me.

We were both empty.

We were both looking for something else. Something more.

We both wanted to put together the shattered pieces of our yesterdays.

Then perhaps we could finally remember how to breathe.

Elizabeth

Sometimes I stood in the backyard and stared out into the wild bushes and tall grass, trying to remember what it had used to look like. Steven had made the place beautiful. He’d always had an eye for details when it came to landscaping, and I could almost imagine the smell of the flowers he’d planted, which were now all dead.

“Close your eyes,” Steven whispered, walking up to me with his hands behind his back. I did as he said. “Name this flower,” he said. The smell hit my nose and I smiled.

“Hyacinth.”

I smiled wider when I felt his lips kiss mine. “Hyacinth,” he echoed. My eyes opened. He placed the flower behind my ear. “I was thinking of planting a few by the pond in the backyard.”