Two Metres From You
Page 29
I’d also like to thank my mum, Joy, my stepdad, Brian, my sister, Ange and my brother, Jon, for their advice on military ranks and protocols – between them they have 110 years of service in the British Army, the Royal Air Force and the Ministry of Defence, and I am hugely proud of all of them. Any mistakes are almost certainly down to me not listening properly.
Crowthorpe is based on a real village where I used to live, albeit it has a different name. While many of the landmarks in the fictional Crowthorpe will be familiar to the locals, none of the characters are based on real people and any similarity to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental. West Cottage is based on a real house too; apologies to John and Sue next door for wiping out your lovely house to make fictional space for Matthew’s barn. You were amazing neighbours and we miss you both.
Thanks to Sarah Burr for always believing I could do this, and to my TITS girls and the Guardians Of Pop for keeping me together during an insane year – you didn’t know it at the time, but your love and positivity and humour spurred me through the days when this all seemed like a giant waste of time. I’d also like to send love and thanks to the new writer community online; I never introduced myself but you were a source of brilliant advice on finding a literary agent and understanding a bit about how this industry works. I knew nothing; I still don’t know much. I’ll do my best to pass it forward at some point.
Talking of literary agents, huge thanks must go to Caroline Sheldon for spotting my first three chapters in her mountain of unsolicited submissions and asking to see the rest – 6 July 2020 remains one of the most exciting and panic-stricken days of my life. You have held my hand through this whole process and I couldn’t have wished for a kinder and more encouraging guide and mentor. Thanks also to Bea Grabowska at Headline Accent for your boundless enthusiasm, dedication and editorial support. I feel lucky in more ways than I can count.