Acknowledgements

While I was writing this book, I was lucky enough to spend time with opal miners and buyers in outback Queensland. All the people I spoke with were, without exception, generous with their time and knowledge, passionate about their industry and a lot of fun to be around. Without their help, I wouldn’t have had the confidence to begin to write about mining this beautiful stone.

In particular, I would like to thank John Bernard for his invaluable insights into how boulder opals are found, mined and marketed, and for sharing his in-depth knowledge of the industry and its background. John took the time to show me around his own claim and introduced me to the opal mining community in Jundah and beyond. There was no question he could not answer, and he imparted a host of technical wisdom along with his deep passion for the stone. He was both great company and a generous host.

Many thanks also to Shane Buckley, who makes a mean cup of tea, has a lot of stories to share and was generous enough to do a special drill-down for me so I could experience the excitement that comes with looking for a jolt of colour in the red earth. A big thank you also to Ron Benny, who cooked a delicious dinner and showed me how cutting and polishing an opal brings the beauty from the rough.

Further north in Winton, I would like to thank Peter Christianos, who is a wonderful raconteur, sharing many eye-opening and jaw-dropping stories about opal mining past and present. I’d also like to thank Stephen Tasic for showing me the most beautiful opal I’ve ever seen – green, blue, gold and red in a striking harlequin pattern and almost as long as my hand, it is the opal that inspired the million-dollar stone that Mark Bailey finds in this story.

Many people supported me during the months I spent writing and researching this book. I’d especially like to thank Lyn Evans for her hospitality and for always encouraging me and giving me the impetus to get back on the road and back out bush. As always, a huge thank you to my family for being my biggest cheerleaders and having me stay, taking care of me and encouraging me while I was writing. And big thanks also to Daniel and Diogo, for always being there when I need them, for motivating me to keep going and for all the bottles of good wine and whisky we’ve shared. I couldn’t have done any of this without all of your support!

Thanks, of course, to my agent, Stephanie Glencross, for all her work and for ensuring I had the time I needed to write this book. And to my lovely and talented editor, Jane Snelgrove, for bringing her magic touch to the story, and to Silvia Crompton for her thoughtful and helpful feedback. Bringing a book to publication is a real team effort and I want to extend my gratitude to all at Embla in the UK and at my Australian publishers, Echo, for their support and for the great job everyone does in designing, marketing and promoting the series.

And last but far from least, thank you to all of you for reading. It’s a dream come true to see this series out in the world and I’m thrilled at how many of you have taken Lucas Walker to your hearts. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy this latest instalment!