I usually start by thanking my editor, but for this novel I feel I should begin with my brother, Nigel Thompson. I would definitely never have thought of writing this book without his thirty-year involvement in the real-life Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Association. He and I also brainstormed early ideas for the story. (He wanted me to use a fifty-something male railway volunteer as the principle character – ie himself! I vetoed this, though Tilly’s father Ken is a volunteer and does play a large part in the novel.) So, thanks so much, Nidge, for your input, the loan of the books, and your comments on the first draft.
Now to my editor, Celia Lomas, who really got the story I was trying to tell, and helped shape it from its rather geeky first draft into something I hope people will enjoy reading. Thank you, Celia. I am going to miss working with you. Thanks also to Kate Mills and everyone else at HQ who worked on this novel.
Thanks are also due to my husband Ignatius McGurl and son Fionn McGurl, who as always acted as beta readers and provided valuable feedback. Brutally honest, in the case of Ignatius’s feedback. Thanks, dearest.
Sue Barnard, a writing friend who along with her husband is a member of the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Association, read and commented on a later version of the novel – thank you, too, for your input.
Finally, thanks to all my readers. I stopped working at the day job during the writing of this novel, to become a full-time novelist. It’s your support that made that possible and your comments that keep me going. Cheers!