As always, thanks must go first and foremost to you, dear reader, for picking up this book and reading it. I hope you have enjoyed it. If you have, please tell others about it, and if you want to be exceptionally nice, leave a short review on the online retailer of your choice. Reviews and ratings really help new readers to make a decision on whether to spend hours of their life reading a book, so online reviews truly make a difference.
I must also thank James Webb, for asking me the question about Hrunting that sparked my imagination.
As usual, I gave the book to several test readers, so thanks to Gareth Jones, Graham Glendinning, Richard Ward, Shane Smart, Emmett Carter, Alex Forbes and Simon Blunsdon for reading early drafts and providing feedback. Their comments were, as ever, extremely useful in helping to polish the final version.
I would like to thank my agent, Robin Wade, for his unwavering support and no-nonsense approach to publishing.
Everyone in the Aria/Head of Zeus family has been great and I love being part of such a dedicated and talented team. Special thanks to Caroline Ridding, Nia Beynon, Yasemin Turan and Paul King.
There are too many to mention here by name, but I must thank all the historical fiction authors and readers who always provide such great support online. The whole process of writing would be a lot more isolated and difficult without the camaraderie of so many friends from the huge virtual world of the Internet.
And lastly, extra special thanks to my family, Elora, Iona and Maite, for all their love, encouragement and support and, of course, for putting up with me.