Acknowledgements
A little over a year ago, Ali had a coffee with the incredibly vivacious and driven Anna O’Grady, Marketing Director at Simon & Schuster Australia, who dared to believe in two rogue Book Ninjas. From this chance encounter, we began dreaming about how to take the romance of Books on the Rail and turn it into a quirky love letter to literature, friendship and soul mates. Thank you, Anna, for planting this seed and for your subsequent support and passion for our story.
Our gratitude also goes out to the rest of the team at Simon & Schuster Australia. We will never forget the day we arrived at your office in Sydney, bleary-eyed from an early morning flight (and twelve months of manuscript writing). Having almost forgotten that anyone had actually read our little novel, we were so touched by your generous hospitality, hard work and the kind words you had to share about Frankie and Sunny’s story.
A particularly special thanks to Bert Ivers, Managing Editor, Fiona Henderson, Publishing Director, and Dan Ruffino, Managing Director. Bert, thank you for your care and eternal love for The Book Ninja. Without your meticulous guidance, our book would not be what it is today. Fiona, thank you for all the excited calls and emails bearing news of each new country that you helped to fall in love with our book. We are overwhelmingly grateful for your championing.
A huge thank you to Hollie Fraser, for introducing Ali to Books on the Underground and inspiring her to start Books on the Rail in Australia with Michelle. And thank you to our Book Ninjas – without your passion and dedication, none of this would have been possible!
Thank you to all the people who helped get The Book Ninja off the rails and onto paper. A very special shout out to Henry Kalus, Doris Brett and the Australian Society of Authors, in particular Olivia Lanchester. Our deepest gratitude to our first readers and author role-models, the incredible Sharon Krum and Davina Bell – your generous counsel, wise insights and encouragement kept us writing. And of course, we would be lost without the support and good humour of our very dear Super Best Friends; you really are the super best.
Even though, after a year of co-authoring, we have slowly morphed into one person, you might be surprised to discover that we still have our own families for whom we care very much. So here are a few of our own, personal thank-yous.
Ali’s acknowledgements
Ever since I could hold a pen, I declared to everyone I knew that I wanted to be an author. This has been met with a deluge of support and encouragement from those closest to me – and without your belief in me there is no way this dream book could have existed.
To my mum Cindy, you are my editor, my psychologist (when deadlines were looming at the same time as my wedding and my business starting up), and my cheerleader. I loved every minute of this journey with you – thank you for inspiring me since day one.
To my dad John, growing up in a house filled with your books of every genre, by authors from all around the world, taught me from a young age that a life without books is a life not worth living. Thank you for turning me into the bookworm I am today.
To my brother Josh, for not only being the most encouraging sibling, but the most understanding business partner, and for wholeheartedly supporting my days off for last minute deadlines and trips to Sydney.
To my beautiful sister Emma for your perpetual support and brilliance – your encouraging words and down-to-earth attitude kept me grounded throughout all the craziness – and I love you ever so much.
To my Lulu for all the licks and cuddles.
To my wonderful husband Alex, my rock. Thank you for planning our wedding while I was elbow-deep in edits, for sleeping next to me without complaint while I typed loudly into the wee hours of the morning, and for being so proud of me. As soon as I signed my contract you told everyone we met that ‘my fiancée’s a published author’, even though I was very much still in the midst of manuscript Round One. I love you more than Frankie loves Sunny.
To my Nana Jacqueline, Zaida Harry, Oma Cilla and Opa Paul, thank you for being such proud and supportive grandparents – I am so lucky to have you all.
To my Hedgehog family, for all the Facebook posts, chocolatey support and name inspiration.
And finally, to my co-author, business partner, soul sister and best friend, Michelle. What a wild journey we have been on together. Thank you for offering up your copy of The Bronze Horseman to place on a train, which would become the first Books on the Rail book of thousands. Thank you for agreeing so enthusiastically to my insane suggestions like ‘I think we should write a book together’, and thank you for being you – because if you were anyone else this wouldn’t have been possible!
To my family, my Kali clan, my source of joy, support, love and unlimited supply of fresh produce:
Mum and Dad, Susie and Allan, my loudest and proudest fans! Thank you for instilling in us a true love of learning, of giving, of striving for goodness and of appreciating the written word. You created a home which was warm and full of life (and animals! Shout out to Ruby!) and an environment in which we all felt safe to take risks. You have provided us with every opportunity to thrive, and for this, I will always be eternally grateful.
My little Lici Lou, my friend, roommate and sister-extraordinaire, how indebted I am to you. Thank you for making me laugh, making me lunch and making me feel whole with your contagious sparkle. I adore sharing my life with you.
Sarah and Iwan, for showing me what a happy ending truly looks like! Even while oceans divide us, you still manage to provide a steady stream of strength, encouragement and joy (not to mention, European envy). P.S. please move back to Melbourne already.
Dave, thank you for your endless cheerleading, charm and for providing plenty of inspiration for the romantic bits. How glad I am to get to love you.
And, of course, there’s my Ormiston family! To the staff, for your friendship, cheer and baked goods. To the students, for your curiosity and for making me feel like a celebrity during each and every yard duty.
Last, but certainly not least, to Ali, my oldest, dearest friend and mighty muse. Thank you for being such a motivated, innovative, kooky and creative spirit who has sprinkled our book (and my life) with such magic. To spend time with you is to forget the world (but not our deadlines!) and laugh wholeheartedly. I am so beyond lucky to be able to share this crazy, literary ride with you!