Barbara Douka, to whom this book is dedicated, is a social media friend who lives in Athens, and at the time of writing we still haven’t met in real life (although I hope to remedy that soon). Back in September 2017, she messaged me suggesting I write about Maria Callas, Jackie Kennedy, and Onassis, and straightaway my brain lit up like a pinball machine. Their story has all the elements I look for in a novel subject, and I knew I wanted to write it. My incomparable U.S. editor, Lucia Macro, jumped on board without hesitation, and Helen Huthwaite in the UK was close behind. All I had to do was get the words down. . . .
As it turned out, the writing of Jackie and Maria took longer than any of my other novels so far. I went through many, many drafts, trying to balance the women’s stories and decide which bits to include, which to leave out. Karen Sullivan, Lor Bingham, my agent Vivien Green, and author Tracy Rees and her mum Jane were early readers, and I was grateful for their honest reactions. Barbara Douka advised me on all matters Greek, while opera singer Heather Keens helped with singing techniques, and Lor Bingham was my go-to expert on pregnancies. As always with my novels, any mistakes that have crept in are my responsibility alone.
Karel Bata came to the Ionian Islands with me for a recce and drove a motorboat repeatedly around Skorpios while I took photographs and imagined my characters swimming in its coves and lying on its beaches. It’s a private island, closely protected by security guards—who asked us to move off more than once—but I managed to swim ashore and feel the sand between my toes, just as Jackie and Maria felt. Thanks for your assistance, Karel, aka James Bond.
My grateful thanks to all those who helped in the making of the book, including copyeditor Jane Hardick, who corrected several matters relating to U.S. politics and terminology to spare my blushes. I also want to thank the entire team at Morrow for their energy, enthusiasm, and professionalism: Lucia Macro, Asanté Simons, Jennifer Hart, Amelia Wood, Danielle Bartlett, Jean Marie Kelly, and Jessica Rozler are the ultimate publishing dream team!
I’m incredibly grateful to all the imaginative bloggers and Instagrammers who have supported my recent novels, in the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and around Europe. It makes my day when someone photographs my book with a beautiful backdrop, writes a considered review, or lets me post on their website, and I wish I had space here to thank you all individually.
Thanks also to the author friends who keep me (comparatively) sane in this crazy business, to Hope Bingham for making me laugh, to my sister Fiona for letting me share her children, and to all the pals who buy my books and even read them. I love you all!