Firstly, thank you so much to my editor, Abigail Fenton, for her brilliant insights into what needed to be done to turn my first attempt at this novel into something readable. It wasn’t an easy book to write and I imagine it wasn’t an easy one to edit either, but between us I think we got there!
Secondly, thanks as always to my husband, Ignatius. Being Irish and Republican, he was, of course, the perfect person to read an early draft of this novel and provide feedback. Not only that, but during the more than thirty years I’ve been with him, he’s provided me with the education into Irish history that was so sorely lacking from my schooldays in England. I remember very clearly my first trip to Dublin when he took me to see the GPO in O’Connell Street. I couldn’t understand why I was visiting a post office – I had no idea of the significance of that building to Irish history. Thanks also to all the other McGurls who’ve helped me understand the tricky relationship between Ireland and Britain, from the other side of the fence.
My son Fionn also provided feedback on an early version (‘too much history, Mum!’) and my son Connor was on hand to help me thrash out plot and character development. He’s now a writer himself so he gets what it takes. Thank you to both my fantastic sons.
Finally, thank you to all at HQ – cover designers, copy-editors and proofreaders, marketing department – you all do a fantastic job and I am proud to be part of the HQ family.