One Fine Cowboy (28 page)

It’s a good thing I had a two-book contract, so I can thank all the people I left out of my first attempt at acknowledgments. Practice should make perfect, but I still feel like a drunken starlet blinded by the bright lights at an awards ceremony.

It takes six things to make a romance writer: a supportive family, a critique group, good friends, a brilliant agent, a great publisher, and a heart-stopping, samba-dancing, rock-’em, sock-’em relationship for singin’-hallelujah, take-your-breath-away inspiration.

I covered that last item in the dedication. Now for the other five:

My family: My parents, Don and Betty Smyth, gave me the support I needed to finally, finally become a writer. My sister, Carolyn Smyth, inspired me with her creative spirit. Web genius Scott McCauley proved you can combine family and work. And Alycia Fleury and her family have continued to enrich my life.

My writing groups: Thanks to Jeana Byrne, Mary Gilgannon, Heather Jensen, Liz Roadifer, and Mike Shay, who helped me through some tough times and offered the perfect balance of advice and encouragement. I love you guys! And to the Saturday Writers—Amanda Cabot, Tina Forkner, Pam Nowak, and Marjie Smith—I admire you all so much, and your support means everything.

My friends: Belated thanks to Cheyenne’s illustrious Barnes & Nobility, including Linda Herget, CRM extraordinaire, as well as B
²
and the entire management crew for putting up with my whining. And to the staff and the regulars—thanks for making my first publishing experience such an event! I’m also grateful to Laura Macomber and Jeff Brown for their never-ending support, and to Mike and Amy Bell for their friendship.

My brilliant agent: Thank you, Elaine English, for always being there when I need you. And thank you to Naomi Hackenberg and the fabulous interns, for making this very solitary job feel like a team effort. If you’re a writer, trust me—you need an agent, and if you’re lucky, you’ll find one like mine.

My great publisher: Editor Deb Werksman, publisher Dominique Raccah, and publicist Danielle Jackson. You are an awesome all-girl A-team of publishing superwomen. Thank you for helping my books be the best they can be.

Okay, I know I said five. But evidently, I’m still in drunken starlet mode because I forgot what is possibly the most important element of all in any writer’s success: the readers. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the readers and reviewers who helped make
Cowboy Trouble
a success. I hope you enjoy this next book, and the one after that—because really, they’re for you. And if there’s anything else you want, let me know at www.joannekennedybooks.com.

After dabbling in horse training and chicken farming in Pennsylvania, Joanne Kennedy ran away to Wyoming twenty years ago and was surprised to discover that real cowboys still walk the streets of Cheyenne. Her fascination with Wyoming’s unique blend of past and present leads her to write contemporary Western romances with traditional ranch settings. She lives in Wyoming with two dogs and a retired fighter pilot. The dogs are relatively well-behaved.

Joanne loves to hear from readers and can be reached at [email protected].