This book involved a fair bit of research, especially into what the world of acting is really like, and I’m beyond grateful to the beloved actresses Sharon Lawrence and Patti Murin for graciously taking time to talk with me about fame, the acting craft, and life in the entertainment world. I so appreciate their time, insights, and honesty. I also learned a lot from Justine Bateman’s compelling book, Fame, and I’m grateful to teacher David Nathan for sharing some insights from his Almost Famous course with me. Two very detailed books about life in the world of executive protection were helpful for my research: Finding Work as a Close Protection Specialist by Robin Barratt, and Executive Protection Specialist Handbook by Jerry Glazebrook and Nick Nicholson, Ph.D. Much of what Hannah tells Jack about his protection detail is taken from those sources. I also truly enjoyed taking a deep dive into the YouTube channel of executive protection specialist Byron Rodgers—a rich and engaging resource for not only the details of that career but also the psychology of it. His interview with legendary agent Jacquie Davis was particularly inspiring and helpful. I’d also like to thank Dr. Natalie Colocci for medical consulting, as well as my dear friend Sue Sim.
Books never happen—or find their way out to the world—without profound encouragement and support, and I owe so much to the folks who keep cheering me on and supporting my writing. My editor, Jennifer Enderlin, and my agent, Helen Breitwieser, are two of my favorite people and really make it possible for me, every day, to keep bringing my A-game. I’m beyond grateful for the fantastic people I get to work with at St. Martin’s Press: Sally Richardson, Olga Grlic, Katie Bassel, Erica Martirano, Brant Janeway, Lisa Senz, Sallie Lotz, Christina Lopez, Anne Marie Tallberg, Elizabeth Catalano, Sara LaCotti, Kejana Ayala, Erik Platt, Tom Thompson, Rivka Holler, Emily Dyer, Katy Robitzki, Matt DeMazza, Samantha Edelson, Meaghan Leahy, Lauren Germano, and many others. I also need to thank writer/director Vicky Wight for being my hero and adapting not one, but two of my books into gorgeous Hollywood movies—including, most recently, Happiness for Beginners—and for introducing me in real life to the very inspiring actual movie star Josh Duhamel. Much gratitude also to Lucy Stille Literary for her representation.
Big hugs and many thanks as always to my family: my sisters, Shelley and Lizzie, and their families; my dad, Bill Pannill, and his wife; and my two astoundingly fantastic kids, Anna and Thomas. And the dream team: my legendary mom, Deborah Detering, and my equally legendary husband, Gordon Center, who are, in their different ways, absolute fountains of support, encouragement, tolerance, and inspiration. If there’s one thing I know in this life, it’s that I lucked out like crazy.
Author’s Note
THIS IS MY pandemic book.
I started this story in the summer of 2020 and finished it in the spring of 2021.
It’s a story I wrote when my real life, like most people’s, was full of worry, and stress, and uncertainty, and fear, and isolation. I always try to find a balance between darkness and light in my stories. For this book? The balance was as much light as possible.
I remember talking with my editor, Jen, about the big plot elements of the story very early on. I wasn’t liking the career I’d given to one of my main characters, Jack. The job he had back then was so dull, I couldn’t even focus when I tried to research it. So Jen said, “Why can’t he be a movie star?” And my first response was, “Isn’t that too fun?”
We talked about it a while and decided: There’s no such thing as too fun.
Especially not that year.
All to say, writing this book got me through 2020.
It was the thing I held on to, the thing I looked forward to, and the thing that helped me make my own sunshine during some very gray times.
It could easily have been a thousand pages long. I loved being with my main characters so much, I would’ve happily added scene after scene of them teasing each other, accidentally snuggling, and giving each other piggyback rides.
The setting of this story is my own beloved grandparents’ Texas cattle ranch. The Stapletons’ house is my grandparents’ place—a rambling farmhouse with a bright kitchen, screen doors that slap closed, and the smell of leather and honeysuckle everywhere. My grandparents are both gone now. The house is still there, but we rent it out, and I haven’t been inside in years. But writing this book let me go back and visit, at least in my head. It let me travel to a place I loved, that I can still see every inch of—and it was such a bittersweet joy to be there.
It really left me thinking about what stories are for.