Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet (Charley Davidson)

Acknowledgments

This book owes a lot of things to a lot of people, not the least of whom are my amazing agent, Alexandra Machinist, and my incredible editor, Jennifer Enderlin. Thank you guys so much! You are both awe-inspiring, and I’m convinced each of you lead secret lives as superheroes.

Thank you to everyone at Macmillan Audio and a special shout-out to the ever-so-lovely Lorelei King for breathing life into my characters. Literally. Speaking of which, thank you to all at St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan, and Janklow & Nesbit Associates.

A special thanks to Jacquelyn Frank and Natalie Justice for naming this book while waiting for a shuttle, war-torn and tattered after a lively three-day conference where the effervescent Natalie mastered mechanical-bull riding and Jacki won my heart over a game of X-rated Round Robin. You guys are the bomb.

Thank you so much to Mary Jo, Mary Ellen, and Bette for the consultations and advice on PTSD. You guys went above and beyond to help me, especially considering the fact that I only had three days to turn in the book. I am so grateful.

Thank you to Danielle “Dan Dan” Swopes for brainstorming with me even when your brain was almost as mushy as mine, and to your wonderful family whom I consider my own. And thank you to my actual family—you know who you are—for being so supportive and understanding when I miss holidays and birthday parties in the name of all things writerly. As soon as I make my next deadline, we are so having a cookout.

A huge thanks to Cait Allison for reading this book in its infancy, painful as it must have been, to give me feedback. I appreciate it more than you can know.

And, sadly, I have to say that at least three of the best lines in this book did not come from my own warped … er, vivid imagination, but that of the enlightened and sometimes terrifying musings of Jonathan “Doc” Wilson and Quentin “Q” Eakins. You guys are like crazy on whole wheat: fun and good for the digestion.

And most of all, thank you, esteemed reader, for making all my dreams come true. Or most of them. I have this one where I’m naked at an airport and … no, you’re right. That’s better left to the professionals. Either way, thank you so much! I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.