Authors: Amanda Usen
Impulse Control (22 page)
Acknowledgements
First of all, enormous kudos to Rachel Lyndhurst for coming up with the fabulous idea for the Zodiac series! As soon as I heard about it, I started begging for my sign. I’m not a typical Aries, but I figured all my years of reading horoscopes, particularly the
Cosmo Girl’s Bedside Astrologer
, should be good for something. I had a blast writing Russ, so huge thanks to Alethea Spiridon Hopson for giving him to me! And for saying, “I like this idea…”
Writing a book is an act of faith. My process is fueled by imagination, coffee, and denial. I ignore the gremlin muttering, “Seriously?! You think people will like this as much as you do?”…until I send the book to my editor. Then the gremlin eats me. I was so freaking thrilled when Liz Pelletier loved the book! Everything except the ending, of course, because I hate endings. Thanks for making me dig deeper, Liz! You rock.
A lot of action happens after all the words are written. Big love to all of the copy editors, formatters, proofreaders, cover artists, managing editors, royalty wizards, publicists, and all-around wand wavers at Entangled. You make book magic happen.
I’m also grateful to Bear Grylls. His book
Mud, Sweat, and Tears: The Autobiography
mesmerized me. I read every word…even though there were no sex scenes. Bear and his amazing adventures inspired me while I was writing about Russ and Susannah. Yep—he sure did. But not while they were naked. I didn’t think of Bear once during the dirty bits. Nope—not at all. I didn’t think about my next-door neighbor Greg’s cousin Phil, the hot Green Beret, either. That’s my story, anyway…
I owe a big bear hug to Chris Kreiger, disabled US Army veteran and president of WNY Heroes Inc., an assistance center that provides financial, physical, and emotional support to Western New York veterans returning home, both for helping me get the army details right and for his heroic service—in and out of the US Army. Chris is a true hero; he served his country at great personal cost to himself and now aids those in need. You can learn more about helping WNY Heroes Inc. at
http://www.wnyheroes.org/
Have you ever called AAA to ask for help charting a course to Mount Everest? I totally did. And another Chris was super nice to me! With incredible good humor, he helped me figure out how long it would take to get from New York to Kathmandu. *blowing a kiss* Thanks, Chris!
No outpouring of affection and gratitude is complete without mentioning Super Ben, my husband and every-hero; Nalini Akolekar, my agent and anchor; Jessica Topper, my hand-holder and fist-bumper…and YOU, my awesome readers. You guys are the best! Thank you for reading about Russ and Susannah’s adventures! I appreciate every moment you spend with my books.
About the Author
Amanda Usen knows two things for certain: chocolate cheesecake is good for breakfast, and a hot chef can steal your heart. Her husband stole hers the first day of class at the Culinary Institute of America. They live in Western New York with their three children, one gerbil, four fish, a Russian tortoise, and a beagle. Amanda spends her days teaching pastry arts classes and her nights writing romance. If she isn’t baking or writing, she can usually be found reading a book and trying to get out of cooking dinner.
Find Amanda online at
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Pinterest
and at
http://www.amandausen.com
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