To Liz Parker, my kick-ass agent and primary hand-holder. Thank you for battling the elements on my behalf. The wind and the rain could’ve easily twisted themselves into one hell of a tornado and uprooted all of our hard work. Thank you for bearing the brunt of the frenzy.
To Alexa Pastor, our trusted editor. Thank you for pruning, trimming, and shaping the foliage. Without your guiding hand, this garden wouldn’t have evolved into the beautiful landscape it has become. Thank you!
Rachael! Rachael, Rachael, Rachael. Thank you for once again digging into the dirt with me. Lugging water and shoveling shit is hard work. I’m so glad I didn’t have to do it alone. Thank you for beautifully adapting another of my screenplays into book form. Love you, lady. I really do.
To Scott Whitehead, my expert attorney, who kept the brambles of business at bay so I could focus solely on the art. Thank you for always having my back.
To my “movie” team: David Boxerbaum, Adam Kolbrenner, Sara Nestor, and all of the Verve, Lit, and MWF folks. You guys got this ball rolling years ago when you signed this green, unknown writer. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your faith and belief. I love you all.
And last but never, never least… to Tobias Iaconis. You are the Great Oak that shelters every garden we build. Under your protective branches, I know that I am always safe to plant and play and dream to my heart’s content, because you’ve got me covered. Ampersand forever—&&&.
—Mikki
Thank you, first and foremost, to my editor, Alexa Pastor, who got this team from start to finish, through rain and ice and hellfire. I am continually in awe of you! May you celebrate with a platter of pizza rolls.
To Mikki, for trusting me with All This Time, which has been so very close to your heart for so long. This is your story. Thanks for letting me live in it for a while.
I am beyond grateful to Justin Chanda, Julia McCarthy, and the rest of the incredible team at Simon & Schuster. I feel extremely fortunate to be able to work with such an amazing group of people.
Huge thanks to Rachel Ekstrom Courage and my agent, Emily van Beek, at Folio Literary, for all the time and care you put into me and my writing.
Also to Siobhan Vivian, for the advice, for the guidance, and for Writing Youth Literature 1 （& 2!） at the University of Pittsburgh.
To my ride-or-die, Lianna Rana, and to Ed, Judy, Mike, Luke, and Aimee, for family dinners, games of Dominion, and vacations smack in the middle of a deadline.
I am especially grateful to my mom, who has always supported me in everything I do. I love you.
And finally, to Alyson Derrick, for making happily ever after everything a girl could dream of.
—Rachael