I’ve always had this inkling that in another version of my life I’d have travelled the world and ended up somewhere like Nashville as a songwriter (seriously!). But of course, here I am working in an equally dream career as a novelist with the very best publishers and I have my gorgeous children to enjoy the journey with me, so I wouldn’t change it for the world.
The whole concept of this got me thinking though – how many of us have an alternative path we may have gone down had destiny and fate not led us a certain way? I do believe we meet people and find ourselves in places for a reason, and that’s how the idea of Rewrite the Stars was born.
This is the beginning of a new writing chapter for me as I’ve stepped across to join the team at HarperFiction, so I’d like to firstly thank three absolutely wonderful women for making this happen:
— To Charlotte Ledger, my publisher at HarperFiction, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your belief in me since our paths first crossed just over five years ago. I hope we have many new adventures ahead.
— To my agent Sarah Hornsley of The Bent Agency – I’m beyond excited and so grateful for all you have done for my career so far and for what will come next. I’m so privileged to have you on my side.
— And to my editor Emily Ruston who continues to bring out the best of me as a writer. Thank you for ‘getting me’ and all I aspire to be, especially for the very inspiring GIF of Bradley Cooper when I was having an off day on the writing front!
A huge, huge thanks to all the bookshops (Sheehy’s in Cookstown especially) for flying my flag; to all the hardworking book bloggers in the UK, USA, Ireland and Germany for their encouraging reviews; to the various media near and far who give me column inches and airtime when I need to get the word out (Pamela Ballantine, Gail Walker, Martin Breen, Annamay McNally, Ian Greer, Jenny Lee, Steven Rainey, John Toal to name a few) and to the book clubs who have read my work and taken the time to send me photos of their bookish adventures everywhere from the beaches of Boston to the snowy mountains of Keystone, Colorado!
Thank you so, so much to all my loyal readers for your continued support and messages on social media – please do keep them coming! I love hearing how you relate to the themes of my stories and how you connect with the characters – there simply is no bigger compliment. Massive thanks to Mona Carson Simpson who, as a reader, goes that extra mile to spread the word about my books. Thanks, Mona, for giving me a laugh when I needed it badly with ‘Betty the book’ and for being such a source of enthusiasm and support. I owe you a lunch in Café No 47 next time you’re home in Donaghmore!
I wrote this book around what was possibly the most challenging times in our family and for that I dedicate it to my children – Jordyn, Jade, Adam, Dualta and Sonny – for being so brave and strong as we tackle this new way of life. Jim and I love you all very much and you will always be our number one priority.
Thanks to Jim as always for everything, especially your support and comfort over the past few months while we both worked intensively to meet our own deadlines amongst the heartache and pain. I’m so proud of you and all your achievements in art and music, but most of all for how you have minded me in such difficult times.
I want to also give a special mention to my sisters, my brother and my dad who have also shown immense strength and courage lately. We are so lucky to have each other and will celebrate many good times ahead.
Huge, huge thanks to singer/songwriter Gareth Dunlop and Dianna Maher (Moraine Music Group, Nashville) for the amazing song, ‘You’. I can’t express how exciting it is to have an actual song attached to this story – it really is the pièce de résistance!
Finally, the biggest lesson I learned while writing Charlotte Taylor’s story was that we aren’t here for very long, tomorrow is never guaranteed and so there’s nothing like the power of ‘now’. We should never be afraid to take risks and make the changes we need to, to be the person we want to be.
I hope you agree.
Lots of love,
Emma x