Writing about a Greek Cypriot family in Britain was tricky, because it was a world I knew nothing about. I contacted Alexandra Strick of Inclusive Minds, whose ambassador program puts authors in touch with young people from a wide range of cultures to support and encourage diversity in children’s books. I have Alex to thank for introducing me to Biatra Christou, who invited me to East Croydon to meet her, Aredi, and Loukia. I later met Loukia’s brother Andreas and her parents, George and Sonia Giorgiou, who told me about Greek Cypriot family life and their community. Huge thanks to you all, especially Loukia Yiolides, who’s answered a thousand hundred texts and emails over the last year and doesn’t mind that I’ve included her family’s lace tablecloths, numerous freezers, and garden-toilet decorations in this book. Thanks to Fiona Dunbar for putting me in touch with Mary Tryfonos, who read a draft and gave feedback. Thanks also to librarian Tanya Efthimiou, champion of children’s books, and her wonderful daughter Alex, who read and offered excellent advice. Alex described life as a Greek Cypriot teenager and corrected my Greek grammar: in your honor, Alex, I’ve given Lexie your name.
The week before Christmas, just as the book was going to print, I read about Greek Cypriot UK MasterChef contestant Theo Michaels in a food magazine, and I quickly contacted him to ask if he’d be willing to send me a recipe for galaktoboureka and he agreed! What a dude! That’s a top chef’s recipe, people. Enjoy.
My agent, Hilary Delamere, is brilliant: I have everything to thank her for, as well as Barry, Rachel H., Elinor, Laura, and the Chicken House team—there would be no book without you. Reverence and homage to Editor of the Year (in my mind) Rachel Leyshon, who, with characteristic sensitivity and insight, turned a rambling mess of words and ideas into a story, and who told me about sisters she once knew who argued over a family heirloom and never spoke again.
My daughter Maayan deserves huge kudos, too. Sadly, she doesn’t read, but she watches lots of movies and TV programs, which have clearly taught her a lot about storytelling and drama, because when I was utterly stuck, she sat cross-legged beside me on the sofa and said, “Mom, this is what needs to happen.” Her previous plot suggestion was to kill everyone, so I wasn’t keen on asking her again, but this time she told me Lexie needed to climb into Eleni’s hospital bed beside her, and she was right. Thanks, Mymy.
Lastly—mostly—thanks to my family: my other children, Tamar (guardian of bones and tissues), Maor (guardian of our land), and Natan (guardian of life hacks); my mother (of course); my sisters; my cousins (disclaimer: I don’t really have a list of cousin rankings); and my friends, in the UK and across the world, for keeping me smiling, helping me in countless ways, and enriching my life. I love you all big time, and I’m not even lying. Honest.