To my dad. You will never read this book, but you inspired it in so many ways. And to my mum, the strongest woman I know. You gave me a childhood of mountains. Thank you for everything.

To my incredible agent Kate Burke, for your fantastic editorial advice and story-doctoring, and expert judgment, including the handling of a ten-publisher auction. I’m so fortunate to have you as my agent. To Julian Friedmann, for his enthusiasm and expertise in selling the TV option. To James Pusey and Hana Murrell in foreign rights, for selling Shiver to so many different territories, and the rest of the team at Blake Friedmann.

To my two amazing editors, Jennifer Doyle at Headline UK and Margo Lipschultz at Putnam in the U.S., for your passion for this project, brilliant editorial assistance, meticulous attention to detail, and for being an absolute pleasure to work with. I’m extremely grateful to you both for investing so much time and effort in this book. Huge thanks also to the rest of the teams at Headline and Putnam, as well as Hachette Australia.

To Sue Cunningham, first reader of this and all my other projects, a fountain of fabulous ideas. And Gail Richards, grammar guru, synopsis queen. Brilliant sounding boards, moral supporters, and fantastic writers in your own right. I couldn’t have done it without you.

To thriller writer Angela Clarke, who so generously gave up your time to mentor me during my previous project with your astute advice. And thriller writer Ann Gosslin, for your wise words and generous support. To my other writer friends: Julia Anderson, Paul Francis, Danielle Hastie, Jodie Mehrton, Linda Middleton, and all the writers I met through the Curtis Brown Creative online courses, including Shannon Cowan, Justin Podur, Stuart Blake, Adrian Higgins, Wiz Wharton, Merlin Ward, and Jenny Fan Raj. You taught me, encouraged me, and inspired me. Thank you.

To my boys, Lucas and Daniel: love you so much.

To all my friends, including Anita Phelan, who was like my own personal angel this past year; my bestest surf buddy, Celine Ruettgers; Amanda Townsend, for cheering me on all the way from Melbourne; Steve White, who carried out suspicious online searches for me; and all-around inspirational person Tammy Esten of Mint Snowboarding School. To Uncle Fred: sorry about all the swearing.

To Gold Coast city council and library staff, for a truly world-class library system. In an era when councils in parts of the world are closing libraries and slashing library budgets, I’d like to point out that as a low-income mum of two, if I hadn’t had library access, this book would not exist.

Many thanks also to the Queensland Writers Centre, Brisbane and Byron Bay Writing Festivals, and the writers and publishing professionals whose workshops I’ve attended.