The Soul Mender Trilogy, a project that has occupied over nine years of my life, has finally come to a conclusion. Just as wrapping up the trilogy in a way that satisfies the reader and does justice to my characters and to my writing is critical, it is equally important to honor and thank those who assisted me along this journey.

And there were many.

As always, I must thank my husband, Nathanael, for believing in me even when I faltered in my belief in myself. He has kept me fed when I couldn’t help with the bills, has cheered me on when rejection brought me down, has helped edit my novels and given great feedback and suggestions, and has loved me despite me spending the majority of our marriage in my pajamas with dirty hair piled atop my head. Thank you for being everything I didn’t even know a husband could be.

I would also like to thank my mom, Carey, for all of the hard work she has put into each of these three books. Her commitment to helping me produce the best work possible, through multiple rounds of edits and countless hours of fine-tuning, has been invaluable. I also want to thank her for keeping electronics out of my life for as long as possible so that I had to discover the entertainment value of a pile of rocks and an old sock.

Thank you to my dad, Walt, for his continued support of my writing and me. Thanks for the edits, the sales, the proud smiles, and for teaching me from childhood to adulthood to always pursue my dreams and do something that makes me happy. Thanks for instilling in me a voice that always says yes to life and isn’t afraid to take chances.

To my sister, Alexis. Thanks for being my original creative partner in crime and for spending all those amazing childhood years bringing to life stories, songs, rocks, toys, tumbleweeds, and everything else in which people missed the magic. Together, we could create life out of nothing, and I truly believe if I hadn’t had you to throw ingredients into our collective creative stew, I wouldn’t have learned the power of make-believe needed to tell a good story.

To my amazing cover artist and friend, Andy Blalock. Thanks for sticking with me for these three covers and for giving a beautiful face to a project I poured my soul into. Your time and artwork mean so much to me, and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner to have shared this project with.

To Bill Poston, the man who took a chance on me and has made this dream possible. I can’t thank you enough. Thank you for believing in me and in my story and for keeping that belief alive despite the trials and tribulations of a competitive and brutal publishing world. I want you to know how grateful I am to have you on this project and how much your dedication has meant to me. You truly are a person who helps young dreamers thrive.

I have been fortunate enough to have the help of an incredible team of marketers and creative minds. Thank you to Lauren Darby, Kinsey East, and Anthony Jacobs for the weekly phone calls, the ad campaign ideas, the graphics, the swag, the help at comic cons, and for everything y’all contribute to Team Soul Mender. Each of you is amazing, and I so appreciate the work you put into this project.

A huge thank you to my author soul mate, Julia Joseph, for making my search for the literary equivalent of El Dorado a little less lonely. Thanks for making me a better writer and a better person and for sharing countless adventures, mishaps, car troubles, and trips to the ER with me. Without you, my author life would be a little less bright and a little less grammatically correct.

To the Red Pen Warriors, with a special shout-out to authors Julia Joseph, Sarah Purcell, and Janice Brooks. You are the greatest. Thanks for the writing lessons, the critiques, the long car rides to conferences, the therapy, the friendship, and the absurd laughs. I am proud of all that each of you do, and I am so grateful to have stumbled upon you one day in west El Paso.

To my family and friends: there are too many of you to name, but know that I love you all and am forever grateful for the support each of you has shown over the past few years. Thanks for the social media shares and likes, the in-person recommendations, the reviews, and for showing up to my events and making me look cooler than I really am.

To Nan Norris, for teaching me the simplest lesson of all: you are your own Soul Mender.

Which brings me to the end. I want to thank each of you for hopping in the car with me and letting me take you on a tour of my mind and the wacky world it created. I hope you enjoyed The Soul Mender Trilogy, but more importantly, I hope you took something from it. Our world is very divided, and each of us plays a role in that division. Unfortunately, Riley and Oz are not out there working to save us from ourselves. Only we can do that. So as you turn the final page in this book, as you place it on a shelf or pass it off to a friend, please take a moment to think about how you can mend your own soul. That is the only way things will change.

You are your own World Binder, your own Peace Keeper, and your own Soul Mender.

Go make the world a better place.