Chapters (54)

Cover
Dedication
Epigraph
Statement
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
Eight Months Later
Acknowledgements
Keep Reading …
Look out for Amanda’s two short stories:
About the Author
Also by Amanda Brooke
About the Publisher

A special thank you to my aunt and uncle, Chad and Evie Chadwick. As a writer, I’ve had some very strange conversations in the name of research and none more so than the one I had with Chad, which helped enormously with the planning of this novel. Your expertise was invaluable and any technical liberties I’ve taken are my own.

All my love and gratitude goes to the rest of my family and particularly to my mum, Mary Hayes who, at the time of writing, is celebrating her eightieth year and is one of the most incorrigible widows I know. Much love also to the friends who make me drink way too much and laugh far too hard for a menopausal woman.

I say it every time, but my life wouldn’t be the same without the people who have helped me develop my craft and turn my love of writing into the career of my dreams. Thank you to my agent, Luigi Bonomi, my publisher, Kim Young, and my editor, Martha Ashby. You are unfailingly supportive, incredibly talented and generous dream-makers for the lucky authors you take under your wings, and I’m blessed to be amongst them. A huge thank you also to the rest of the team at HarperCollins who do an extraordinary job of bringing my words to life and releasing them into the world.

My biggest thank you goes to my daughter, Jess. You have been my source of joy and inspiration, and I’m not sure if I can take any credit for the beautiful and caring young woman you’ve become. Wherever the next chapter of your life takes you, I know you’ve got this. You make me so proud.

And a final note to my readers. Writing can be a lonely business, especially when I’m lost in the world I’m busily constructing (or dismantling, depending on the stage of writing and editing), so when someone leaves a review or contacts me on social media to let me know they’ve enjoyed one of my books, it’s such an amazing feeling. You keep me going, and I couldn’t do what I do without you. Thank you!