If you’re expecting short acknowledgements from me, clearly we’ve never met. Grab a cuppa and make yourselves comfortable, we’ll be here for a while.
Eternal gratitude to my utterly amazing publisher, editor, sister, guidance counsellor, cheerleader, fairy Godmother, mentor, hero, Mary Rennie. This is as much your book as it is mine. Others may think they have the best publisher in the world, but I actually DO have the best publisher in the world. I love you around the moon and the stars and back again.
Massive thanks to my rock, my guardian angel, my backbone, Jacinta di Mase. Smartest thing I ever did in my life was put a poster on my bathroom wall and manifest you. Love your work and love you, lady.
Thank you, thank you and thank you again to my miracle worker, my magician, my editor Dianne Blacklock. Your wand waving turned my caterpillars into butterflies. I laughed my way through the un-funniest time in any author’s life, edit month, thanks to you, my own personal ‘track changes’ comedian. Don’t ever leave me!
To the powerhouse team at HarperCollins Australia, thank you, you collective group of absolute legends! Amazing Alice the best publicist there ever was in the history of ever and the best publicist that there will ever be until the zombie apocalypse. Sarah Barrett, I bow down to you my marketing and promotions queen – your brilliance is staggering. Theresa Anns, my wonderful manager, I adore you my crazy Pikachu, you’re my family. To Karen Maree, your passion shines from you, gorgeous lady – thank you for your inspirational leadership of the team who took my book out onto the streets and made sure it was everywhere I looked! Hazel Lam for your talent, dedication and attention to detail in designing a cover that literally took my breath away – thank you for the roses, Hazel. And last but not least, to James Kellow, for empowering me with this incredible team, for giving me a platform and a voice and for believing enough and being brave enough to back a risky prospect like me – thanks boss.
To Daniella Hassett, thank you for making me look less stupid when I submitted the manuscript to my publisher. For a banker you make one fine editor. So good in fact you got to go on the dedication page! My fear is that it will encourage you to pounce on even more unsuspecting people who have no idea who you are or why you’re signing their copy of my book. Love you heaps, Dan-Dan.
To Donelle Marcar, thank you for the awesome title, my Vonnie, and to Mary-Lou Stephens, thank you for ‘dozy’. To Sting, thank you for ‘Fragile’. Though you know not that I exist, Mr Sting, your music is my existence.
To Nina Casella, thank you Nina Pretty Ballerina for bringing Leila out of her shell and to Deb ‘Swami’ Disney, thank you for pointing me in the right direction in the beginning.
Big thanks to the AFL big guns and all round good guys who answered all my footy-related questions – Adrian Hickmott and Rohan Smith. And Hick, thank you for being Tom’s hero and mentor through his formative years. For the conspiracy theory people out there, I’d like to state unequivocally that this story isn’t a statement or a thinly veiled exposé about the AFL and it’s not based on any existing team or people. Any inaccuracies about AFL structure, protocol, practices or policies weren’t because I was fed the wrong information, but because I made things up to serve the story that came from my imagination.
To my personal cheer-squad – Cai Bohm, Margret Best, Leanne Albers, Kenicha Hatten, Marie Hatten, J’aimee Brooker, Kathryn Wilshire, Melissa Sargent and Esther Clark – thank you for your constant vocal support and your precious friendship. I adore you all.
To Marcia Bezuidenhout, Arielle Deltorro, Renee Conoulty, Monique Mulligan, Samantha March, Laura Tait and Karan Eleni, thanks for letting me have fun with your names! I have a strange way of thanking you, the bloggers who supported my first book so passionately. To Tanya Atherton, thanks for letting me go wild with your name too. I have a strange way of thanking the teacher who inspired both of my children and gave them more room to sparkle than anyone else. Jasmin Kenworthy and Jade St Clair, be warned, book three is coming . . .
To all the librarians, booksellers and journalists who threw their weight behind me with my debut. Thank you for helping people discover me which then made a second book possible. You’re all wonderful!
To Karen McDermott – you inspire me in countless new ways every day. Thank you for all you’ve done for our family. I love your huge heart, I love your vision and I love you.
To Rosie de Courcy, you’re the most surreal and magical part of me getting published. The editor of my favourite authors, Maeve Binchy and Colleen McCullough, as well as being my dear friend and wise confidant. Thank you for letting me into your life with such open arms. Love you, Rosie.
To Rachael Johns, my role-model, my partner-in-crime, my anchor, my vox amigo, my keeper of secrets, my hand-holder, my daily de-briefer. You keep me sane, Rach. I’d be lost without you and I love you so very much.
To Engy Neville, my soul sister in navigating this cultural chasm we’ve found ourselves caught in. A feminist warrior, a human rights crusader, a doting wife and mum, a giving friend, a brilliant author, a woman paving the way for future generations of Arab girls – you’re an inspiration. Bahebek ya habibti.
To my formidable support network of author besties, my inner-circle of trust, my home girls – Jennifer Ammoscato, KJ Farnham, Maggie Bolitho, Natasha Lester, Lisa Ireland, Sara Foster, Genevieve Gannon, Alli Sinclair, Lily Malone, Steph Pegler, Jennie Jones, Louisa Loder, Lana Pecherczyk, Samantha Napier, Eliza Henry-Jones, Rowena Wiseman, Jenn J McLeod, Mae Wood, Sunni Overend, Louise Allan, Vanessa Carnevale, Spiri Tsintziras, Nicola Moriarty – you girls are my spirit animals. Having you on this roller-coaster makes the ride much more fun and much less lonely, thank you. (Yes, I know I named twenty-three besties. Yes, I do love them ALL. Don’t judge. Also, read their books!)
To Sarah Lamb, my best-friend in the world and hands down the most amazing woman I have ever met in my life – thanks for being my constant. I love you with all my heart, Choo-Choo. I want to grow old with you more than I want almost anything else from the universe.
My girlies, my soul mates, my crew till the day I die – Emma Cockman, Angie Rees, Adrienne Richardson, Trish Noack, Meredith Angelucci, Sandra Manning, Leanne Panetta, Heidi Lauri, Jude Robinson, Sonia Todaro, Antonette Fazzari and Nadia Fazzari. Thank you for not giving up on me even though it’s become easier to get an audience with the Pope than to pin me down for a coffee since I’ve all but disappeared into the depths of my writing cave. I love you women so hard.
Special thanks and extra, extra love to my beautiful mum for your unwavering support and for being ever-present, even though you routinely embarrass the hell out of me with your excruciatingly public proud mum moments of which there are many (too many, Ma, too many! Be cool!)
To my husband, Paul, and our children, Tommy and Lara – my loves, my anything and everything. Thank you for making space in our home for my dreams and for loving me as your wife and mother which was always my biggest dream of all. Sharing this life with you three amazing people is what keeps me whole. I love you to infinity and beyond. Baby Lachy, a few hours in my arms but forever in my heart. Thank you for always keeping me company when I’m alone, my love.
To the world’s asylum seekers, may you find the shelter, the welcome and the acceptance you deserve. Know that there are millions of us who stand with you and who will not be silenced. The day will come when your voices will be heard and until that day, know that we will continue to make our voices loud enough to drown out the others. As the quote goes, I’m not a snowflake. I’m not fragile. My toughness is my tenderness. There is nothing more courageous than compassion. But if that makes me or people like me snowflakes, then winter is coming.
Finally, to you, my readers – when the words all sound the same and I become crippled by doubt, when I’m exhausted and stale, when it all feels too hard, I remember that you’re out there, that you’re waiting and I keep typing. You’ll never know how much your messages and emails, your presence at my events, your support of me on social media and your championing of my books to your friends means to me. I’m only an author because of you and I hope I keep making you proud. Thank you xx