Acknowledgements

When people ask where I get my ideas from, it’s sometimes hard to answer. Ideas can come from nowhere or from everywhere. Some years ago, in the central Australian desert, I found myself in the care of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. In places where the nearest doctor is hundreds of kilometres away, the RFDS saves lives. In part, this book is my way of saying thank you.

Even more years ago, I met a Catholic nun who worked as a nurse in a children’s hospital. In the face of the most tragic suffering, she remained serene and never lost her faith in people. I always wanted to write a story worthy of such a character.

These are the people who inspired this book.

As a result of a chance meeting on a plane, I offered the name of one of my characters to be auctioned to raise funds to help the people of Haiti, still recovering from the shocking earthquake. Thank you Andrea Geroldi for your generosity – I hope you like ‘your’ character.

It takes more than inspiration to write a book – an author needs a lot of help … Thank you Jamie White for advice on flying – or not – a light aircraft. Any technical mistakes in this book are entirely my fault.

Thank you to my friends and fellow writers in the Romantic Novelists’ Association – in particular Jean and Rachel and the girls (and occasional guys) who meet up in London, Reading and Oxford. You help more than you will ever know.

Thank you to the Choc Lit authors who welcomed me with open arms. I love you all. Thank you to the team at Choc Lit who turned my manuscript, with all its flaws, into this beautiful book.

And thank you to John – for the many cups of tea, the proof reading and for sharing the pain and the joy. Marrying you was not an entirely bad idea!