Thank you for reading the second edition of I Belong to the Earth. If you’ve got this far I really hope you enjoyed it and are eager to join Emlynn on her future adventures – which you can find out more about at www.jaironside.com.
Writing is often a one-person endeavour but producing a book is almost always a team effort – whether certain people know they’re on the team or not. I could not have done this without the help and support of many people. Firstly, thanks to everyone who helped with the first edition. Danielle Romero for spotting potential in my story. Tonya Clary who was editor-in-chief during production. Special thanks to Emily Stanford for her superb editorial work, enthusiasm and for pushing me to tell a better story.
Big thanks to all the graduates of the Self Edit Your Novel course class June-July 2013 – if this book crosses your path, you can see I’ve put your feedback to good use I hope. Van, Ben, Karen, Voula, Ellie, Aneeta, Maggie, Margarida and Ed – you guys were the bes. To Emma Darwin, who ran the course, along with the fabulous and dauntless, Debi Alper, thanks seem a bit inadequate, so I’ll couple it with a dink next time I see you. Truly though, thanks for everything.
To my fellow scribblers, the amazing and talented Random Writers – without your support, encouragement and constructive criticism I would have stopped many times over. Thank you – you guys rock.
For my fantastic beta readers Kaz, Stevie, Matt, I really can’t express how much I appreciate your time and energy. Thank you all so much.
Biggest thanks of all and cake of choice to my writing buddy and fellow writer, Shell Bromley, who read so many versions of I Belong to the Earth that she probably knows the story better than I do, coped with my meltdowns, and pointed out that commas don’t like me and tend to troop off a page when I’m not looking. Every writer should have a writing buddy as great as mine (just so we’re clear you CAN’T have mine). Thanks, Shell, you’re one in a million.
Finally thanks and love to my family. To Sarah and Ella, for cheerleading, ongoing support and just being my sisters. Big thanks to Mum and Dad for leaving me to entertain myself with large piles of books from an early age – you gave me universes dressed in words, where the only boundaries were those of imagination. I may not have mentioned this before, but I always appreciated you looking politely away when I was being especially weird about books.
Last but never least, thanks to Allan, my boyfriend-creature, who knew when to leave me alone to get on with it, who put up with vague answers and vacant looks when I was thinking about plot, and who is the wall I bounce ideas off. Truly sine qua non.
Jules 2015
I Belong to the Earth (Unveiled Book 1) Page 66
