Acknowledgements

A big, batty thank you to my family – Don, Beth and Charlotte, and Mum and Dad – for putting up with ‘about my book’ once again, and to my brother Ralph for his interest and advice, even while in the middle of the Amazon jungle. Thank you to Ivy Tudor, for helping me with horse-camp titbits and offering a young person’s perspective on all things riding. Thanks to Shelley Fitzgibbons for tramping through bat colonies (and smiling), and to Petah Tudor for hearing me out when things got tough.

I’m once again grateful to Caitlin Jensen, Marci Dahlenburg and Ann Harth for reading the manuscript and giving me a kind thumbs-up every time I needed it, and to Louise Saunders and Connie Kerr from Bat Conservation and Rescue Queensland for inspiring me with their tireless work for our beautiful and vulnerable bats.

Thank you to my fabulous readers, young and old, for spurring me on by asking, ‘When’s the next book coming?’ and to the incredible team at the University of Queensland Press, who believed in me even when the story played hide-and-seek. Project Editor Kristy Bushnell was the epitome of patience in helping me mould my unwieldy concept into a decent story. Editors Karin Cox and Cathy Vallance and Senior Editor Michele Perry were invaluable in making the story shine, while Cover Designer and Illustrator Aileen Lord made it look stunning with her fabulous artwork. And, of course, to the amazing Publisher Kristina Schulz – thank you!