Hallowed Ground (36 page)

Acknowledgments

Thank you, first and foremost, to my Heavenly Father, who has blessed me beyond reason, and without whose mercy I could not exist.

Thank you to my husband, Jason. For being my strength, my safe place, my inspiration, and for always accepting me for exactly who I am and not only loving me in spite of my flaws, but because of them. Thank you to my children, who give me a reason to put my feet on the floor before the sun rises, and fill my heart and my arms with warm, squishy hugs. Thank you to my sons for standing tall and strong while we lived eighteen hundred miles apart from your dad these last seven months—while I wrote this book, edited another, wrote another, took too many phone calls, snapped one too many times—all in the name of adopting your little sister. Thank you for loving her with the ferocity of the fire-breathing dragons you are. To my sister—I’m coming home, so tune up your guitar. Love you, mean it. To my brothers—thank you for the unique perspectives you bring to my life and your ability to simultaneously make me yell that I’m now an adult while making me wish I was not. To my parents, who never doubted for a second, and learned how to live again with five kids underfoot while we transitioned. To Grace, for always seeing the best in me and loaning your name to our daughter. She will wear it well.

Thank you to my amazing editor, Karen. I can’t believe we’re here, not just at the end of our fourth book together, but the end of this series. These Flyboys are just as much yours as they are mine. Thank you for teaching me, laughing with me, and being incredibly patient with me. To Jamie, for believing in Josh and Ember, and me. To the insanely talented team at Entangled: Liz, Debbie, Heather R., Heather H., Ellie, Jessica, Brittany, and Curtis. You’re all rock stars. Thank you to my incredible, sassy publicity team, Melissa, Linda, Sharon, Jesey, and Kristi, for eleven p.m. messages, cocktails in NYC, strawberry whiskey in Nashville, and love in Philadelphia. I couldn’t do this without you ladies. To Ashley, I’m so praying that I haven’t scared you off yet. To my agent, Louise, for every time you’ve stepped in when you didn’t have to and for your unwavering faith in me.

Thank you, Molly, for three a.m. critiques and swift kicks in my ass when I’m ready to torch a manuscript. It’s you, my dear, who is the golden goddess. To Emily—nearly twenty years, and you’re still my best friend. Either you’re incredibly brilliant, or your pain tolerance is wicked high. Linda, thank you for taking a chance and sending a newbie author an email. My life has been irrevocably changed for the better because of you. Katrina, I have no words for the way you are able to answer every question with a smile. Rose, because Oliver Queen always trumps RT. To Lizzy, for your steadfast friendship and inspiring heart. The rest of the BBA crew, Rachel, Cindi, and Melissa, you guys keep me on my toes and constantly striving to better not just my writing but myself. To my Backspace Survivors, what a road this has been. My Epics, you guys blow me away. To the incredibly talented group of writers I find myself lucky enough to call friends: Jen, Fiona, Megan, Tessa, Mindy, Brenda, Amy…and now I’m going to kick myself because you know I’m leaving someone out. To the women I couldn’t make it without, Claire, Corinne, Whitney, Pepper, Alessandre, Christine, Laurelin, Lauren, Mandi, Kyla, Rose, Kristy, Aleatha, the whole crew. You give me a safe place, incredible insight, and your friendship—I could not be more grateful. FYW.

To the bloggers who spend countless hours reading, reviewing, pushing, helping, sharing—Natasha, Jillian, Aestas, Wolfel, Angie, Alexis, Allison, Lisa, Holly, Toski, Natasha M., Kara, and the countless others I’m no doubt forgetting at three a.m.—you are absolutely invaluable in both your insane skills and your tender hearts. How did I get so lucky to have your support? Trish, you might not be a blogger but, my God, are you an amazing cheerleader, and an even better friend.

To the person I undoubtedly forgot. I love you. Please forgive my sleep-deprived brain. It’s been a long year.

Lastly, again to my husband, the original Flyboy. For coming home to me every time you’ve deployed. For giving me so much inspiration in our real life that
Hallowed Ground
simply flowed. For this love that has not only survived four deployments, but is all the stronger for them. There’s so much of you in here. Your honor, your integrity, your strength. So much of you in every hero I write.

About the Author

Rebecca Yarros
is a hopeless romantic and a lover of all things coffee, chocolate, and Paleo. She is the author of the Flight & Glory series, including
Full Measures
, the award-winning
Eyes Turned Skyward
, and
Beyond What is Given
. She loves military heroes, and has been blissfully married to hers for fourteen years. When she’s not writing, she’s tying hockey skates for her four sons, sneaking in some guitar time, or watching brat-pack movies with her two daughters. She lives in Colorado with the hottest Apache pilot ever, their rambunctious gaggle of kids, an English bulldog who is more stubborn than sweet, and a bunny named General Fluffy Pants who torments the aforementioned bulldog. They recently adopted their youngest daughter from the foster system, and Rebecca is passionate about helping others do the same.

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