Losing Faith (32 page)
Authors: Denise Jaden
Tags: #Juvenile Fiction, #Family, #Siblings, #Social Themes, #Death & Dying, #Mysteries & Detective Stories
Thank you to my wonderful agent, Michelle Humphrey. I couldn’t ask for a better advocate, advisor, cheerleader, and friend. I hope whatever’s on the lunch menu today is extra-special!
Thank you to Anica Rissi and the team at Simon Pulse for putting so much thought and care into my book, and offering stellar suggestions to make it shine. Many thanks to Cara Petrus for creating the beautiful cover for this book.
To my incomparable critique partners and friends: Extra-special thanks to Sharon Knauer, who gave me the perfect mix of encouragement and brilliant suggestions in my early writing days. Enormous thanks to Shana Silver, Elle Strauss, Craig Pirrall, Jennifer Hoffine-Hoffman, Amy Brecount-White, Tara Kelly, Caroline Starr Rose, and Pendred Noyce for your boatloads of help with multiple manuscripts. Thanks to Maria, Rick, Lorrie, Pam, Liz, and Brandy, and the rest of the cool people at Critique Circle whose advice can be seen in the pages of this book.
A big thank-you to The Tenners and Class of 2k10, not only for their co-promotion efforts and support, but also for being just plain fun to be around. A great big shout-out to all my Blueboarder, LiveJournal, Twitter, and Blogger friends. And YA Book Bloggers—you ROCK!
Thanks to a few of my early readers for great advice and confidence-building: Mom, Dad, Jody, Kathryn, Kim, Harry,
Norm, Duane, Natasha, Mandy, Michelle, and all others I’m probably forgetting (feel free to make me feel guilty—I deserve it!). Also thanks to Jason Goertzen, who gave me the book that sparked my love for reading, and to Paul Latta, who continues to inspire me creatively.
A few great websites I need to mention and thank the proprietors thereof:
www.critiquecircle.com
—this is where I met most of my amazing critique partners;
www.nanowrimo.org
—Losing Faith was a “Nano” novel, and I completed the first draft in twenty-one days during Nanowrimo 2007; http://misssnarksfirstvictim.blogspot.com—wonderful educational contests where I learned about the art of hooking a reader.
This book would not have been possible without the amazing support of my friends and family. Thank you all, especially Ted and Teddy, for giving me the time and space to find my stories.
And most of all, thank you to The Great Author and Perfecter of faith, for making me who I am, surrounding me with such awesome people, and quickening my mind to so many stories to tell. I can’t wait to find out what the next one will be about!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Denise Jaden
is a former church secretary and youth group leader. When she’s not writing, she can often be found homeschooling her son or dancing with her Polynesian dance troupe. She lives just outside Vancouver, Canada, with her husband, Ted, and son, Teddy.
Losing Faith
is her first novel. Find out more at
denisejaden.com
.
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