I am grateful for the invaluable contributions of family and friends during the writing of this book. I particularly want to thank my daughter Heather, my son Daniel and my daughter-in-law Samantha for their suggestions and assistance. I thank my son Matthew for his great ideas and my younger children Tyson, Wayne, Daryl and Allan for their patience and understanding. I thank my dear friend Karen McKenzie for her encouragement.
I am also deeply grateful to Claire Allan-Kamil for her critical judgement and insightful editing. Lastly, I am indebted to Robert Frost whose wonderful poem ‘A Considerable Speck’, provided the inspiration for the novel.