I falter. I shake my head automatically. “How can I possibly earn you?”
He removes my tremor of doubt as only he can. “You earn me daily. Come on. You know I give you everything you want. Just relax. Let me spoil Darcy Barrett a little, for the rest of her life. Let me get a taste of that feeling.”
All I can say is, it tastes sweet.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to the following people for not bludgeoning me to death during the process of writing this book.
My husband, Roland, always responded You can when I wailed I can’t. Thanks for being right and for supporting me when writing unexpectedly changed my life. My mother, Sue, is my number one fan. My pug, Delia, is my second biggest fan.
Taylor Haggerty from Root Literary is my agent and my lighthouse across the sea. She has cheered me on with unfailing positivity. HarperCollins has been so patient with me as I found my feet again after the unexpected success of my debut. Carrie Feron is my editor and her calm confidence in me has meant the world.
Thank you to my friends, but these two in particular: Tina Gephart messaged me every afternoon to see if I was having a good writing day. Spoiler: I usually wasn’t, but Tina would still check in the next day. Thank you for being a friend and mentor. Thank you to Christina Hobbs for that long Skype call. I picked myself up off the floor one last time, and now I get to write this.
The Flamethrowers are a group of wonderful readers who found The Hating Game and loved the hell out of it. I wrote this book for all of you.
P.S. Insights, Interviews & More . . .*
About the Author
* * *
Meet Sally Thorne
About the Book
* * *
Behind the Book Essay
Read On
* * *
99 Percent Mine Epilogue: 1 Percent More
The Hating Game Epilogue
About the Author
Meet Sally Thorne
SALLY THORNE is the USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game. She spends her days climbing into fictional worlds of her own creation. She lives in Canberra, Australia, with her husband in a house filled with vintage toys, too many cushions, a haunted dollhouse, and the world’s sweetest pug.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
About the Book
Behind the Book Essay
They say if you stare into the abyss too long, the abyss stares into you. Well, I’m here to tell you that the abyss they’re talking about is a blank Microsoft Word document.
When I wrote my first book, The Hating Game, I didn’t even know I was writing a book. Ha ha, I thought, grinning to myself as I tapped away whenever I felt like it. How enjoyable, how droll! How did I do it? Who knows, but it’s printed with a cute cover! What was next?.
I opened a
new document and I stared