To you, lovely readers. For reading, for commenting, for sharing, for making Beaufort something more than just a strange conversation with my dad. You are all entirely wonderful.
To my dad, without whom Beaufort would never have come about. Thank you for giving me a sense of the ridiculous, and teaching me to appreciate silliness. And for passing on the odd imagination. I could have done without inheriting your weird feet, though.
To Lynda Dietz at Easy Reader Editing, who is responsible for all the correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling in this book. The mistakes are all mine. She’s also responsible for making me really, really look forward to the editing process. Thank you for making what could have been the hardest part fun, easy, and entertaining.
To all my wonderful writer friends. You know who you are. Thank you so much. You’re responsible for making me believe in this writing lark. Especially Alison and Anna, who I met at different points, but exactly when I needed to. You are truly amazing, and I kind of want to make a cheesy A-Team joke, but I’ll restrain myself.
To Sylvie, Sophie, and my other non-writer friends who manage to not only resist glazing over when I start talking about dragons and tea, but who actually encourage me.
And, of course, to you, new reader who has just taken a gamble on a book about tea-drinking, mystery-solving dragons. You are entirely awesome.