They say writing is a lonely and solitary process and yet I found it to be far from either of these. Although the act of putting finger to keyboard was of course done alone, behind the scenes I had an army of extraordinary people cheering me on, offering thoughts and suggestions, and sharing my excitement with the project. To start with I have to thank those without whom this book would never have been published: the incredible team at Bloomsbury Sigma and their fearless leader Jim Martin. Jim, you took a huge leap of faith by asking me to write my first book for you and I thank you from the bottom of my heart – your tweet could not have come at a better time. Thank you for always sharing in my vision for the book, especially its cover, and thank you for always replying to emails quickly and with a great sense of humour. To Sigma’s assistant editor Anna MacDiarmid for taking Goldilocks through to publication, Lucy Clayton and to the rest of the Sigma team; this labour of love would not have been possible without you. The Bloomsbury Sigma family has brought me into contact with so many wonderful scientists and science communicators whom I am now honoured to call friends, and I am tremendously proud to be a part of this group. To my illustrator Sam Goodlet – I wish I had your talent! You are such a gifted and easy woman to work with. Thank you for sharing in my vision for the illustrations and I think everyone will agree you have produced some phenomenal drawings that bring the book to life. To Monica Byles, my brilliant copy editor – your comments have been invaluable and insightful and Goldilocks is the better for you.
A deep and heartfelt thank you goes to my huge support network of family, friends and trusted readers who have stood by my side and listened to my many ramblings about aliens and extremophiles: Natalie Bell, Fiona Bond, Chloe Chin, Denise Houcke, Matthew Houcke, Tony Houcke, Jules Howard, Barbara James, Irina Kasatkina, Suzanne Kenny, Katherine Kotian, David Lambert, Kersten Malhan, Gemma Metcalfe-Beckers, Sophie Murray, Alexandra Pontefract, Ann Preston, Anke Schnedler, Linda Seward, Alaura Singleton, Lynne Whoolley and my TED Fellows family. I have enjoyed every second of writing this book and all of your support has made it possible. To those of you who gave up your time to read and edit my book – offering helpful suggestions, brutal comments and infantile humour over the use of certain words – this book is the better for you! I also owe a massive thank you to my favourite coffice (coffee office), Artisan, for patiently allowing me to steal a corner of its lovely cafe for hours on end. Thank you for the fantastic coffee, unshakeable Wi-Fi and delicious raspberry lamingtons, and especially to Jessica, whose steadfast optimism helped inspire me every morning. Thank you to Max Richter for providing the soundtrack to my mind and Netflix for letting me stream episode after episode of multiple TV shows, providing me with focus. Yes, I watch TV and write at the same time – I have no idea how or why – it just works.
To my parents, I say a huge thank you for … well … everything. Thank you for supporting and encouraging a seven-year-old girl who was just as interested in becoming a geologist and climbing volcanoes as she was in playing with Barbie dolls and running a delicious, yet make-believe, hamburger diner. Together and separately you have given me every possible opportunity to experience the best the Earth has to offer, and quite possibly sealed my fate in becoming a space scientist by orchestrating my first trip to the Kennedy Space Centre. Dad even masqueraded as a teacher to get me the Kennedy Space Centre educational pack – my hero. Throughout my life they have taught me to work hard and push my limits so I know this book would never have been written if it weren’t for them.
Finally to Dan, my husband and best friend for the last 15 years, a thank you is simply not enough. Never was there a man who more supported a woman wholly determined to make a living doing a job she loved. Who patiently read her book on his commute to work every day and shared in her vision of the story she wanted to tell. Thank you for being my rock (pun intended) through the last few years and for giving me our wonderful little boy. I hope all the months of emotional and financial backing were worth it and I have made you proud. Oh, and I should also admit – he came up with the title – without him, there would be no Goldilocks and the Water Bears.