The Otherlife has had a long journey and many people read it along the way, sometimes more than once. They are: Sara Crystal, Rose Gardner, Calum Gray, Jennifer Johnson, Stanley Johnson, Louisa Macmillan and Laura Williams. Thank you for your wisdom and support.
Specific advice came from Dr Nalini Jasani on medical matters, Kayleigh Manson on pathology, Kat King on tattoos, Jack Maguire on heavy metal and Calum Gray on heavy metal and rugby, and I’m very grateful for all their thoughts; any errors are my own.
Very special thanks are due to Dr Richard North for his generous and invaluable help with the grammar, syntax and spelling of Old Norse; as before, any errors are mine.
The Otherlife was born halfway through my creative writing studies at Birkbeck, and I owe a great debt of gratitude to my tutors, and to all the students in my Writing for Young Adults module; especially to Gill Fryzer, who told me to start the book; to Julia Bell, who encouraged me to finish it; to Russell Celyn Jones and also to the Sophie Warne Fellowship.
Imogen Russell Williams: I can’t thank you enough for your manifold suggestions, phenomenal patience and empathy.
Thank you to Chloe Sackur, Charlie Sheppard and all the wonderful people at Andersen Press.
And thank you to Louise Lamont, my very brilliant agent.