Sixteen (8 page)

As my first full-length story to brave the world,
Sixteen
definitely wasn't the easiest thing to write. And as an indie author, the fact that
Sixteen
even exists is due to quite a few more people than just myself. Ergo, many thanks are owed.

To Mom, because I never would have written this if any other ideas for Mother's Day presents came to mind.

To Dad, who gave me
Black Beauty
and a notebook and told me to write what I think.

To Mrs. Rose, who taught me the love of story in first grade.

To Mrs. Wolfanger, who taught me the art of story in fourth grade.

To Grandma, for encouraging me to finish what I start.

To Stephanie Morrill, Jill Williamson, and their Go Teen Writers community. I owe you all big time, and will depend on you just as much for help with the next book.

To my beta readers, many of whom are quoted in the advance praise. Namely, these fine ladies include Abbie Mauno, Melanie Schroeder, Katelyn Whitley, Bethany Cripe, Jaedyn Matsalla, Clare Kolenda, and Becki Badger. Their emails kept me going on the (many) days I believed this story belonged in the recycle bin.

To Rachelle Rea, editor extraordinaire, for her hard work and sweet words. This book owes its existence more to that girl than any other individual.

To my gamma readers - Eva Joy Schonhaar, Aidyl Ewoh, Bethany Cripe, Natalie Noel Truitt, Sam Graber, and Jillian Haggard - for helping me get from "edited manuscript" to "published book." Sam especially deserves chocolate, for transferring all my low-key files to the fancypants format I needed.

To Melody Simmons of EbookIndieCovers,
http://ebookindiecovers.com/
, for her patience and this book's gorgeous cover.

To Nadege Richards of Inkstain Interior Book Formatting,
https://www.facebook.com/InkstainInteriorBookDesigning
, for making this book look as polished and professional as it should.

Finally, to the Lord Jesus, Who really deserves all the credit. He gave me a brain and a computer; I just put them together.

Born in Panama, Emily Rachelle has traveled throughout the country and the world with her Air Force family. Currently, she lives with her parents and three brothers in middle Georgia. While Emily enjoyed reading as far back as she remembers, writing didn't come to her until she learned the forms of poetry and the basics of story in fourth grade. Since then, she's written scripts for homeschool dramas, poems for birthday presents, and stories for friends and family to enjoy.
Sixteen
is her debut into the professional world of words. You can find Emily at her blog,
Emily Rachelle Writes,
http://emilyrachellewrites.blogspot.com
. She loves to hear from her readers, too! Email her at [email protected].