Kerri Sackville’s book Out There: A Survival Guide for Dating in Midlife was a most excellent resource and helped me write Alice’s adventures in the online dating world. Real-life stories from my niece Tahlia Lowe also helped. Signing up to three different online dating sites to understand how they work was illuminating as were the looks on my adult sons’ faces when they found the apps on my phone. I promise I didn’t engage, ghost or neg anyone.

Thanks to Kate and Phoebe Parsons for all their information on bronze casting. I’m seriously jealous of your pelican and I’m so excited that it has such a special place in this novel. Thanks also to fellow author and artist M.J. Scott for the drawing tips and Lauren Harbor, author and dog lover, for all things greyhound. Dean Fuller answered my questions about working on an oil and gas platform, Alan Collett helped me out with some accounting terms and Serena Tatti advised on Italian terms of endearment and their spelling. Peggy Howden gave me information on growing vegetables in Gippsland and tennis mate Penny Radalj came up with the great idea of using community events to connect a year. I ran with it, recalling years of wonderful festival experiences as well as the family’s annual summer barefoot bowling night. Years of my parents regaling me with U3A stories came in very handy and I borrowed, with permission, the term “director of Homeland Security” from Eliza Harvey, after hearing it on her excellent podcast, Long Distance Call. Sandra Nieuwenhuis guided me through scrapbooking and Kerri Coghlan shared her experiences at Relay for Life. Dr. David Brumley patiently answered my questions about palliative care and dying at home.

This book was the reason we enjoyed a fabulous family sailing adventure on the Gippsland Lakes—research! Thanks to Kerry McKendrick for filling in my knowledge gaps about the area and providing me with wonderful photos to add to my collection. Using the silt jetties in the novel was her idea.

Many thanks to Rachael Donovan and Annabel Blay at Harlequin who are always equable and calm when I am not. Thanks to Kylie Mason, my editor, whose skills lie in both the big picture and the minutiae even if we don’t always agree and to my agent Helen Breitwieser, who is always a wise source of counsel. Special thanks to Norma Blake and Norm Lowe for ‘Americanizing’ this edition and a shout-out to Laura Helm and her friends for their information on what is considered ‘expensive food’ in the USA.

I’m indebted to my wonderful publicist, Amy Milne, who has brilliantly and enthusiastically supported me with my previous three books and she had hoped to work with me on this one. Tragically, she passed away leaving a huge hole in our lives. My deepest sympathy goes out to her family, friends and colleagues.