As a gesture of my undying love for you, as well as our shared love of the written word, I have donated cash on behalf of all these peeps to 826 National, a non-profit that supports and fosters young writers.

Wanna see your name on this list? Keep those votes and comments coming. Or contribute to a Write-In! The most recent one is here.

Shout out to Write-In #1 winner Nasahn Sheppard for his encyclopedic knowledge of adorable first date spots in LA. Without you, Tess and Neal would have gone to bed hungry. And not just for each other.

Rene Rosso, thank you for being an absolutely unfailing voter, commenter and gentle nagger. If no one else paid attention to this blog ever again, I would still know I was accountable to at least one reader.

Liza Thomson Bobrow, thank you for being my secret editor. You handle my rough drafts so lovingly, as though they came from a tender baby’s bottom.

Tom Pulham, I can’t believe you have time in your very important job pursuing justice across the land to read this very frivolous blog. Thank you for caring. It gives me hope.

Lora Kee and Simon Dunlop, I have outright stolen elements of your lives to populate my fictional world. Seems like you should get something for that.

Jennifer Pattee, Jeff Riddle, Jon Sung, Tyler Gates and Tofer and Vye Moran, thanks for your Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and real life love. The fact that you want to share my stuffs with your friends and colleagues makes my heart glitter.

Aimee Goggins gets a big ol’ thumbs up for liking my posts earliest AND most often.

Benjamin of the Smart Overcoat, you are the first stranger to read this site on a regular basis. Unless I do actually know you, in which case…this is awkward. But either way, thank you. It’s really fucking cool!

Jessica Gates, thank you for your enthusiasm and expertise regarding vintage spy transportation possibilities. With you and Jeeves, I know I will always ride in style.

Jeff Zwerner, Mark Gibson and Thomas Kriese, thank you for your willingness to jump in with first-person accounts of hot-air ballooning. They were so good and so detailed that I almost feel as if I don’t need to take that ride myself.

Hilleary Wright and Theresa Gonzalez, your support, savvy and generosity have been crucial to my mental well-being this month.

And here’s to our Write-In #2 winner, Ian Votteri. Thank you for your valiant attempt to impersonate Neal via text. You won’t see the results for now, but trust: you saved the day.

Thank you thank you thank you to Tracey Briones, Write-In #3 Winner, for her textual brevity and badassedness. “I don’t buy it” is exactly what needed to be said in the circumstances.

And mad props to the other text contributors: Ken Hudson, Amandahugnxx, Alyssa, Benjamin, Thomas K, Jean, Yarrow Bucans, Geoff R, Regina Philangee, Liza Thomson Bobrow, Tom, and the age-old wisdom of Anon and Anonymous. Don’t forget to cash in your bespoke poem, you guys – you never know when one of those will come in handy.

Out in the real, non-virtual world, I’d like to hug Phil Hamlett for his amazing analog contributions and stunning stamp curation.

And a tip of the hat to that venerable gentleman Ernie Beyl for a pretty fantastic research date.

Big Ups to my girl Tyler Ahn for her inspired suggestion of weekly video recaps. I think many people would like to thank you for that one, lady, because now they don’t have to read my stinky prose.

A humble tip of the Philip Treacy to our Write-In #4 Winner, Yarrow Kae Bucans, for her inspired outfit selections. Thanks to you, Tess walked into and outta that high class brothel with her high class style intact.

Also gotta give a well-deserved honorable mention to Lisa Kitto for her awesome sartorial recos. So many good looks, I wish I could write the scene all diva-style with outfit changes.

I just GOTTA say thanks again again and again to Ben of the Smart Overcoat for having the bestest commentary ever. So smart, so thoughtful, so thought-provoking.

And finally why the hell not…Jennifer Egan, reading the Goon Squad got me fired up again when I really needed it. It’s people like you who inspire people like me to keep writing in hopes that someday we’ll be able to write prose like yours.