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I am forever grateful to the many people who assisted me with the writing of The Disenchanted Soldier. I am certain that in naming individuals I will miss out some I should have included, so please take it as given – if you have contributed any information, advice, guidance or support, I thank you.
In particular, I would like to thank the members of the Mairangi Writers’ Group who listened to my early attempts and guided me to a better way. I would especially like to thank author Jenny Harrison (The Lives of Alice Pothron) and Erin McKechnie (Cissy) for reading my first awful drafts and assuring me of its potential. I am certain I would not have published or written anything further without their encouragement.
I would also like to thank those who willingly gave of their time and abilities to motivate me. To Adrienne Charlton, publisher, proofreader and editor extraordinaire, go my thanks and appreciation for her exacting demands with punctuation and grammar to ensure this book is as flawless as humanly possible.
To Ron McDowall, who read all my early work, and my final draft readers, Ged Martin and Janice Mackay, all of whom gave me invaluable feedback. Thanks also to Lynne Martin for the illustrated maps. My appreciation goes to family – aunts, uncles, cousins, and parents – who told me their stories.
Lastly, to my own wonderful family – my husband, my two children, and my four beautiful grandchildren (to whom this book is dedicated) – I am eternally grateful. Their belief in me kept me going.
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