Josh Landy in the book is actually a real person, and a jolly splendid one too. The part of ‘Josh’ was auctioned off in the book to support our local school and the Hay and Talgarth Refugees group, of which many thanks for his generosity. I wanted Josh to be recognisable as such rather than simply ‘Your Name Here’ and he entered into the spirit of the exercise with all due gusto, and much of the dialogue and descriptive prose attached to Josh’s character is his – my thanks for making it all so easy.

The frontispiece was done by Bill Mudron and Dylan Meconis, and a jolly fine job was done, as usual, and at lightning speed – they can be contacted at www.billmudron.com and www.dylanmeconis.com and are open for commissions. My thanks also to Catherine Affleck for undertaking the infinitely subtle job of designing logos for HiberTech and the Consul service. More of her work and contact details can be found at www.catherineruthdesign.com.

It only remains for me to thank Simon for our Thursday lunches, all my children for the never ending joy they continue to bring me, and Ozzy, whose sharply focused and never-ending enthusiasm for stick fetching has been a source of huge inspiration.

Jasper Fforde

March 2018

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* No one knows quite why. Something to do with St David’s Day.

* Legally speaking: ‘The non-surrender or retention for whatever reason of any person in a Pseudosentient Mobile Vegetative State’.

* Unofficial motto: ‘Keeping up the numbers so you don’t have to’.

* Offsets were classed as childbearing avoidance rather than evasion – a subtle, yet legal, distinction.

* Slang for ‘became a nightwalker’. Usual terms were Husks, cabbages, Vacants or deadheads. Revenant was the most polite term, but technically speaking they were in a ‘Pseudosentient Mobile Vegetative State’.

* It tasted salty if you’re interested, and detached surprisingly easily.

* But only plates, saucers, pots, pans and cutlery. Cups, jugs and tankards were a complication too far.

* One spoonful of banana Nesquik, equal parts rum and Robinson’s lemon barley water.

* RealSleep’s unofficial motto was ‘What Dreams May Come’.

* It’s rumoured that she would often approach potential breeding partners in shopping malls and cinemas, but I’ve no idea if this is true or not.

* Not each, although it felt like it.

* Staying awake in the Winter requires considerable pantry, a lot of luck, warm clothes, and several dozen good books.

* They used it not during the Winter, obviously, but when they slept – through the late Summer.

* More about my head later.

* A device used to record barometric pressure. A trace is usually recorded on a piece of paper.