Some New Trend

At the risk of repeating everything Carrie said, I’d like to say a big “Thanks” to:

FAMILY. My Mom, who would set aside time at work to read the latest chapter, and then always call to tell me she loved it. My Dad and Jo-z, who anticipated listening to all of our homespun podcasts. To Christy, Bill, Alyse, Adalin, Justin, Melissa, and everyone in my extended family – I’ll always appreciate your infinite support. I could’ve sought out doing something more lucrative with my life, but even after chasing wild and seemingly unattainable career ambitions, none of you have provided anything but encouragement and validation. I’m also glad that none of you seemed to worry whenever I threw in the occasional dirty joke or swear word.

SNT STAFF. Thanks for remaining dedicated and making our project ten times cooler. Drea Zacharenko — we met shortly before all of this and I couldn’t have been happier with the site, stickers, and press kits. John Yam — receiving your illustrations was like unwrapping a Christmas gift every week, except that you never gave us an ugly sweater or pair of ankle socks. I was thinking we could get matching Will Sharp tattoos. Move back to Alabama and we’ll talk about it. Jason Slatton – it was tough to get around to editing when subjects such as the new Ray Davies solo effort demanded serious attention and nerd-out time. Back when you compiled the “SMiLE” recording sessions for me at Jonathan Benton, I confess, one of the bigger platonic crushes in history from one heterosexual male to another began to develop. Thanks for your edits, advice, and much thanks for aiding me with writing and educational endeavors. And Cary Norton (or should I say Delores?) – you’ve done a great deal more than can be listed on a blog post, but to start, I’m glad we share a work space, and I wish I could be there to distract you more. You’re really good at board games, but you should practice lobstering more often if you plan on staying up-to-par with your competitors. Sean Kirby and Seth Newell – our first idea was to recruit some Red Bull girls, but you were cheaper. Just less hot. Truthfully though, you were a great promotional team. Plus you knew how to operate a video camera. And you did other stuff, only it’s all too illegal and unethical to mention.

FRIENDS. There’s more of you than the people listed below, so I’ll try to cover the friends that told me they were reading, along with a handful that were around as the project developed. Here we go: Matt Binnie, Renee Boucher, Jarrod and Stacy Allen, Kipp and Jesse Williams, David and Anna Carrigan, Van and Sarah Newell (a lot of thanks here for education assistance), Matt and Jessica Parsons, Aaron and Amanda Lane, Helen Harris, Garret Simpson, Andrea Northen, Alan Barton, Dallas and Allison Taylor, Elisa Munoz, Jenna Lyle, Stephanie Masters, Stefanie Tubbs, Brandon and Brooke Ballard, Jessica Jones, Amy LaRue, Jeanette Brabston, Olivia Keaggy, Sarah Moorad, Firekid and Meg McClung, Steven Lambert, David Smith, Evan and Chrissy Labit, Brooke Yeah, Elise and Mark LaGory, Daniel Kirby, Jenn Edgar, Sarah Schmidt, Claire Cormany, Jamie and Tammy Harper, Tiffany Fuller, Taylor Gonzales, Meghan Ellie Smith, Krista Montelpare, Watermark, Shades Valley Community Church, Crestline Starbucks & Urban Standard coffeemakers, BiciCoop, Underoath, April Cover, REAX, former bandmates, old and new coworkers (Amy Miranda, Tatanka, Matt Allen, AJ Roach, others from Daily Cup/JBB, Fly Bar & Restaurant, Urban Outfitters, etc.). And to any other readers that’ve found their way to the site – you’ll forever be our friends too.

CARRIE ROLLWAGEN. You’ve been my neighbor, boss, coworker, barista, reading peer, nurse, personal chef, therapist, scooter advisor, and writing partner. We’ve written a couple other novels (and screenplays!) in close proximity over the years. In the spirit of tight deadlines and taking on more than you can handle, you came up with the concept of writing a book together to share with others for free. The night before April 6th I couldn’t sleep. While Josh was nervous about establshing contact with Bryanna, I was nervous about establishing contact with our audience. Would anyone read the thing? Would they like it? Surely they’d think we had serious issues. And didn’t we, though? You calmed my nerves and helped me go through with it, and made it easier even when it was hard. You’re a hard worker, talented writer, but more than any of the roles I’ve listed you’re a great friend.

Now that I most certainly sound like a big ol’ weepy-eyed pantywaist…

SOMEONE. Anyone. Please give us money.