Acknowledgments

My first thanks are to writer and artist S.E. Crowder, whose marvelous editing and all-round brilliance make a world of difference to my writing life.

The debt I owe to David and Lucy Armstrong is immeasurable.

Deep thanks are due to Clare Brant, who first led me into the eighteenth century, and whose love, encouragement and passion for words have been an inspiration ever since.

Thank you to the members of the Brereton Novel Group: Claire Connolly, Joanna Crowley, Jess Davies, Katie Pierce, Barbara Smith and Kate Taylor. Your dedication was awesome.

To the students who joined my writing class in Sandbach, Cheshire, thank you for ten years’ commitment and creativity. Special thanks to Niki Dalton, Jo Davies, Barbara Jelf, Heather and Paul Savvides, and Val West. Thank you, Lisa Oliver and Liz Middleton, for talking shop, swapping work, and drinking tea.

The writers who welcomed me to their group when I moved to Essex were especially generous with their time in the autumn of 2017. Thank you, Bev Morris, Judi Sissons, Louise Taylor, and Sarah Wragg.

I owe a huge debt to the tutors on the courses I attended, in particular Stephen Booth, Joanna Courtney, Livi Michael, and my supervisor at the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester, Ian McGuire. Thanks to Roz Watkins and Sophie Draper for timely advice as I took my first steps into crime.

My friends have been indispensable on the path to publication. The love and support of Marg Bolton, Catherine Anderson, Heather Gage, Sheila Dillon, Joan Bartholomew, Di Sutton, Nicola Swinnerton, Ruth Price and especially Susan Watkins kept me going when publishing a novel seemed an unlikely dream. All writers need friends and readers like Diana Dunn, Jo Pryke and Pauline Rollins, who gave up their time to read my work and offer feedback.

Wendy Graham shared her expertise in publishing and sales, and I am most grateful to her.

To my fabulous editor Yvonne Barlow I owe everything. Thank you, Yvonne, and Claire Bell, my copy-editor, for your sharp eyes.

To Bill, Eleanor and Tom Armstrong-Mortlock, thank you for reminding me (frequently!) that people matter more than writing books.

Lastly, and most of all, I thank Andrew Mortlock.