First and foremost and always, thank you to my readers. You holding this book in your hands is my dream come true. I’ve written for many years and only recently has it felt like anyone out there would be interested in my stories. I am so grateful that you picked up Shot in the Dark and spent some time with my imaginary friends.
My wonderful agent, Saskia Leach, championed me and Shot in the Dark at a point when I was beginning to lose faith in whether Gabe and Juliet would ever find their way out into the world. From our first meeting, she has been kind and professional, everything I could wish for in an agent. She’s also a brilliant human being and has a great cat vomit story. You should ask her about it.
Thank you to the wider team at Kate Nash Literary Agency, and the other authors represented by this glorious bunch. They made me feel welcome straight away, like I had joined a very bookish family.
When Siân Heap told me that she’d read Shot in the Dark in sneaky moments while she brewed tea and waited for the train, I knew I wanted to work with her. She is a wonderful editor – passionate and knowledgeable and always willing to answer my millions of questions. Thank you, Siân, and the larger team at Canelo, for taking a chance on my story. You’ve been a dream to work with and have made my first stumbling steps into being an author (!) as comfortable and exciting as they can be.
A small army of people read Shot in the Dark to reassure me that it was a story people would actually want to read and not the ramblings of a mad person. Huge thank you to: Simon Benham (and Catrina, you sneaky reader), Nat Jones, Emma Maher, Chris Reddecliff, Chloe Ford, Emma Bradley, and Amanda Golding. That you would spend your time reading my book and chatting with me about it is such an act of kindness.
In addition to generally patting my head and telling me my words made sense, some lovely people used their life experiences to enhance my story. Anything that’s remotely accurate can be attributed to them. Thank you to my Uncle Mark, who worked for many years as a police officer and gave me extensive notes on all things procedural. Thank you to Mike Wigley, who gave me advice on the medical aspects. Thank you to my dad, who read through my scene in a prison and made it much better. Thank you to April Newton, who answered my questions about solicitors.
Thank you to the counsellors who have helped me to understand my brain better. Particularly Gabi – I found you when I was falling apart. You helped me to gently put myself back together.
Thank you to my family of writers – Marisa Noelle, Sally Doherty and Emma Bradley. You have cheered with me through the MANY ups and downs of getting a book published. Thank you for enduring a surely inhumane amount of SHOUTING.
Some people like to bang on about the evils of social media, but for me it’s been a blessing. Twitter and Instagram have connected me with such a lovely group of people who have supported me and cheered me on. There are, literally, too many of you to list. If you’re reading this and wondering if it applies to you because you once sent me a nice message or laughed at something stupid I said – yes, it does. Thank you for walking with me – I love walking with you. (Special thanks to the people who message me about my deep and enduring love for pain au chocolat – you have good priorities.)
Thank you to John. You were the best father-in-law I could have hoped for. I wish I’d had more time to know you. Your death taught me that if there was something I really wanted to do, I needed to hecking well get on and do it. We cannot assume that we have forever to achieve our dreams.
Thank you to my mum. You have read this book twice (maybe three times!) by now and have been my unending cheerleader. I love chatting about my books with you and (even though I pretend it’s embarrassing) I love it when you tell everyone that your daughter is an author. It means so much to me that you and Dad are proud of me. Dad – you have to message me when you get here and tell me you’ve read it. Thank you to my wider family for your kind support.
The biggest thank you ever to my lovely husband. Ben, you are the kindest human being I know. You’re my best friend, and I will always feel grateful that you want to hang out with me. Thank you for holding me when things get rough and for celebrating with me when things are brilliant. You’ve read this book more times than anyone else and always give me the best advice. Thank you for being on my team.
And finally, thank you to Odie. You have no idea why I stare at a weird screen for many hours a day, but you’ve slept in the same room with me while I’ve typed away. You’ve helped me unwind on long walks and have endured many cuddles. You are a very good dog.