Pub day is tomorrow, and I've been trying to figure out how I feel about it. The truth is, I can't quite put it into one word. I'm excited and nervous, happy and oddly sad, relieved yet anxious, eager yet strangely at peace. So what exactly am I feeling?
Maybe it's complicated because the journey was, too. I've stayed with this story for so many years, including some where I'd given up, only to come back to it deciding it was worth one more try. Writing does that. It makes you hope and doubt all at once. And somehow, it was always the thing I came back to.
Looking back, I'm amazed at how far I've come.
I don't think my younger self would have believed any of this—that I'd be self-publishing, that I could still connect to readers all around the word without an agent or publisher, that I could find the resources and people who helped turn the book into the best version it could be.
It's truly remarkable what becomes possible when you're willing to try, and that alone feels worth celebrating.
For now, I'm simply grateful: grateful that I kept going, grateful for the people who supported me along the way, and grateful that I get to keep telling Niil's story.
And with that said, here are the incredible people who helped me along this journey:
Acknowledgements
I want to say thank you to everyone who supported me throughout my writing journey. To my family: I know you weren’t always sure about the book itself, but you always believed I would grow into the kind of person who could write a book worth believing in. You were right.
To my dear friends, Rose Quiambao and Karen Johnson, who were the first to read my earliest drafts and cheer me on when the pages were still rough and silly. Rose, especially, thank you for sticking with me through all the good writing days, the writer’s blocks, and everything in between. I’m so lucky to have had your support.
To Laura Clifton, my audiobook narrator, whose voice I recognized right away as the one I wanted to narrate this story. To Kaitlyn Johnson, my first editor who wasn’t afraid to tell me the hard truths. Your honesty and insight shaped this story into something stronger.
I’m also deeply grateful to Layne Mandros, Ellen Whitfield, Marissa DeCuir, and the entire Books Forward team for your energy, and professional guidance in getting this book out into the world. To Wilhemina Craw, for creating such beautiful cover art. And finally, to my sister, Song H. Kang, for drawing the map and Eloment Wheel for me years before I ever dreamed I’d be published like this.
Though the story began with me, the warmth, hope, and heart that Niil shares with his friends were shaped by all of you. Thank you for helping this book become what it is.
With love,
Bora
Leave a Reply