Acknowledgements

Planting Pearls has been such a fun book to write, as the plot twists turned up and begged to be included along the way. Many of these ideas were triggered by a small team of Selkie Moon fans who read each chapter as I wrote it, gave their reactions and tendered their suggestions. I’ve never done this before and it was a productive and enriching journey.

Thank you to everyone who commented on the first few chapters and helped me get out of my head and onto the page – you know who you are. But the ‘Awesome Foursome’ (AF) who stuck with me for the whole 17 chapters + epilogue, sending me their comments each week and living the story with me, were: Gayle Boyce, Keith Gardner, Cathy Stratman and Ruth Welsh. My heartfelt thanks to you for your support and dedication.

Here are some examples of how their input added depth to the mystery. SPOILER ALERT: Only read the following if you’ve finished reading Planting Pearls.

Question from VK: When we meet Marisa in the bar, is the information she gives about her Portuguese background too much like an info-dump?

Reply from AF: Not if she’s coming back later.

Outcome: I’d regard Marisa as a fleeting character, but I decided to bring her back. This revealed her back story at Waipunalani and brought a whole new multi-layered thread into the story.

Question from VK: Do you think Selkie’s statement to journalists – and the news story that follows – are plausible? What was your emotional reaction?

Reply from AF: Panic. What if Andrew sees the news story and uses it to find Selkie?

Outcome: I hadn’t thought that the publicity might make Selkie visible and vulnerable – of course! After this suggestion, I created a whole new thread of pressure on Selkie as a consequence of this news story.

Many thanks to my editors Kendra Olson, Steph Warren and Carol Millman, whose honest and skilful early feedback took this story to a whole new level of complexity. Kendra then oversaw three rounds of redrafts to bring Planting Pearls to publication.