Today’s the day. The official release date of Firmament: Machiavellian. Sure, it lacks a little “oomph” because it’s not going quite how I planned — there were some problems with the paperback, so it won’t be available for a day or two, but the Kindle version is already out, so for those of you who like electronic books, you can now purchase that version on Amazon! And I’ll let you know when the paperback is up.

But somehow, I don’t feel like making this release all about me. I may be the writer, but there are so many other people that have been there for me and supported and helped me that I honestly don’t think of it as just my book. And in honor of that, I’d like to try something I haven’t done before — I’m going to post the special thanks from the book here. I want all of you to know how much I rely on all of the people listed.

To each of the following people — thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Machiavellian Special Thanks

First I’d like to thank my family, for their support of this book and my writing in general. They are my biggest fans, and the ones who have to put up with me during the days where I miss chores, stress out over deadlines, and remain in a zombie-like state while trying to figure out those sticky plot twists. I especially thank my parents, who have always encouraged my writing, and my brother Adam, who always lists me as his favorite writer. I’d also like to thank my sister Hope, who was the first person to hear this story all the way through.

Next, a huge thank you to my wonderful test readers: Jonathan Garner, Aubrey Hansen, Lawrence Mark Coddington, Jeremiah Stiles, Sarah Holman, Faith Blum, Sarah Jamrizok, Emily and Cheryl Mann, Jordan Miller, and Joel A. Parisi. Without them, this book would be a mess with glaring mistakes and lots of boring and illogical spots.

But even with all that help, the book still would have been a disaster without the hard work of my amazing editor, Michelle McDevitt. Her patience with me and her dedication to making my stories the best they can be are true blessings. And the book wouldn’t be what it is without the beautiful cover done by Michael McDevitt, who brought Napoleon to life in a way that exceeded my expectations. But while he made the outside look beautiful, credit for the inside goes to Aubrey Hansen‘s legendary formatting skills. And extra special thanks to my brother Jacob for adding text to the cover and working with me for hours to get the color of the title just right.

And even though they didn’t read the book or actively contribute to it, I owe thanks to Annie Hawthorne, Heidi and Heather Salzman, and Jotham Chua. Their enthusiasm for this series and my writing is a much-needed source of encouragement! Also thanks to Martin Selbrede for his interest in my writing and his recommendation of an extremely helpful book, Nancy Sample for her contribution to one particular scene, and Daniel Schwabauer for his advice on a difficult decision.

Most of all, I thank my beloved savior Jesus Christ, without whom I would not have the strength, dedication, or hope that I need to tell stories.