I wrote (and rewrote, and rewrote) The Starspun Web mostly while standing at my kitchen counter, fitting in fifty or a hundred words here and there around my daughter’s frenetic, colorful, enthusiastic little-girl life. So, it is to her that I owe the greatest thanks and the sincerest apology—the thanks for her patience with “busy Mammy” and the apology for all those times when “I’ll be with you in a minute, love!” turned into much longer than that. Thank you, little star. I hope, one day, you’ll be as proud of me as I am of you.
My husband, as has become his habit, made every possible effort and sacrifice to help this book along, and all without complaint. Thank you, Bucket. I’m so glad to have you in my fan club.
Working with editors as astute as Katie Jennings, Melanie Nolan and Karen Greenberg is a privilege. To them, I offer my most heartfelt thanks for helping me to hew this book out of the word sludge that was my original submission, and for reminding me of what I do best at exactly the right moment. Thanks also to the marketing, publicity and design team at Stripes Publishing, especially the wondrous Leilah Skelton and Lauren Ace, and to Susila Baybars for her detailed copyedit.
The immensely talented Sara Mulvanny and Sophie Bransby created a cover for this book that has gone beyond my hopes. Thank you both for the care and time you took to give this story such a beautiful wrapping, and particularly over the depiction of Ackerbee’s (which, if you’re ever in Dublin, is based on the real-life Lafayette Building on the corner of O’Connell Bridge).
Since my first book, The Eye of the North, was published, I have had the great joy of befriending and getting to know hundreds of teachers, bloggers, librarians, other authors and—most importantly—readers. I couldn’t possibly name them all, but there are a few individuals I must mention. To Scott Evans, curator of the #PrimarySchoolBookClub, I owe a huge debt of gratitude; it was a singular honor to be named the club’s first Book of the Month for March 2018. Thank you, Mr. E, for all you do! Thanks, too, to every teacher, TA and librarian I’ve chatted or interacted with on Twitter, email or my blog—your efforts to promote reading for pleasure among your pupils are hugely appreciated by me, and by all of us who try our best to create stories worthy of our readers.
Thanks to Lucy Fidler, of Layton Primary School in Blackpool. I am proud to be the Patron of Reading for this wonderful school, and I owe that honor to Miss Fidler. I’m also proud to have been in touch with Kinross Primary School as their Author Pen Pal over the past school year—thank you all! Remember: Always Be Curious, and never stop reading.
For their invaluable support and general cheerleading, I also wish to thank: Steph Ellis (@eenalol), Steph Warren (@bookshineblog), Amy (@GoldenBooksGirl), Jessikah (@JessikahHope), Faye (@FayeReads), Victoria Dilly and the Book Activist (@bookactivist1), Aimee (@aimee_louise_l), Jo at My Attic Library (@myatticlibrary), Jo Clarke (@bookloverJo), Gordon Askew (@GordonAskew), Library Girl and Book Boy (@BookSuperhero2), Laura and Faith (@272BookFaith), Ashley Booth (@MrBoothY6) and everyone at Children’s Books Ireland (if you’re not already a member, do consider joining—childrensbooksireland.ie—and tell them I sent you!).
One of the best parts of becoming an author is getting to know other authors. Only they really know the challenges, frustrations and tiny triumphs involved in this strange old life, and among the people I’ve been most pleased to befriend over the past year or so are my old muckers Vashti Hardy, Juliette Forrest, H. S. Norup and Elizabeth and Katharine Corr (respectively, the authors of Brightstorm, Twister, The Missing Barbegazi and the Witch’s Kiss trilogy). Everyone I’ve ever met in the world of children’s publishing has been a person of the very highest caliber, and it’s a wonderful feeling to be a small part of that amazing bookish family. Thank you all.
A huge thank-you to every child I’ve had the joy of meeting over the past year, and to the teachers and librarians who facilitated our workshops. Nothing gives me greater joy than to see a group of story finders with their heads bent over their worksheets, drawing or writing something that has been sparked by a suggestion from me. It’s a privilege to be welcomed into your imaginations, and I’m grateful for it.
To my family and my family-in-law, I send my love and gratitude, particularly to my wonderful parents, Tom and Doreen. This book was partly dreamed up while listening to my mother-in-law and her sister talk about their mother’s experiences during the North Strand bombing, and so to them I owe a massive thank-you. I hope this story would have done Mary proud. My extended family has been a stalwart source of support and encouragement right from the start—thank you all. My friends, who turned up in droves for the launch of The Eye of the North and who have always believed in me—I don’t have words to tell you how much you mean to me.
Darlin’ Hugo: thanks for being you.
To Polly Nolan, agent beyond compare: go raibh míle maith agat—“you’re some woman for one woman.”
And final thanks, as always, go to you, the reader, who has stuck with me through two whole books (so far). Getting to know you has been the greatest joy of all.