It’s a testament to how much of a team effort a book really is that my acknowledgments page is miles long . . .
Thanks first of all to my dear friend Jax Blunt, who has cheered me along the way from the very first words to the final ‘Is this OK?’ email. I couldn’t have written Grace without you.
To Elise for roller skates and introducing me to Judy Blume and adventures in the woods and a lifetime of friendship.
To Mum, Chris and Zoe – thank you for being there, always. And to Mae – thank you for being one of my first readers.
To Ross – thank you for the tea, darling (sorry I forgot to drink it), and for everything you do. Verity, Archie, Jude and Rory – I love you all so, so much and I am enormously proud of the strong, clever, kind people that you are. Thank you for making me laugh.
To early readers Tamsyn Murray, Ella Risbridger, Lucy Powrie, Amanda Colston and Perdita Cargill, all of whom – at various stages of writing – gave me the courage to keep going.
Thanks to Rhiannon Adams for being there, night and day (usually night). And to Alice Broadway, Keris Stainton and Hayley Webster for making everything better. To Cathy Bramley, Miranda Dickinson and Kat Black – thank you for excellent hooting. And thanks to my lovely Caroline Smailes for being herself. I’m lucky to have you all.
Macmillan Children’s Books – you lovely lot. It’s so exciting to be part of the team seeing this book into the world. Thanks to my editor Rachel Petty for her amazing ability to see what a book needs to really shine. And huge thanks to Catherine, Kat and George – you are all brilliant stars.
To the UKYA community, and the book bloggers who work so hard and make such a difference – your excitement and enthusiasm make this job so much fun. Thank you.
To everyone on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – thanks for giving me a reason to procrastinate, and for cheering me on. It’s so lovely to share the process of every book with you all. Thanks especially to the #actuallyautistic tribe for making life better.
Amanda Preston, my agent, has been totally Team Grace from the moment I shared that very first snippet of her voice. Thank you – I’m so lucky to have you in my corner.
I’d also like to thank the staff of Bo’ness Library from years ago. They had no idea that the girl who visited every week and knew the teenage section by heart would one day become a writer. Libraries are magical places and we should treasure them.
Writing acknowledgements is the tricky bit – much harder than the book. Hopefully I haven’t missed anyone out but, if I have, know that I am enormously grateful for you, and all the people who surround me who make life such an interesting adventure.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rachael Lucas is an author, coach and freelance writer. Her bestselling debut novel, Sealed with a Kiss, has been downloaded over 130,000 times on Kindle. She lives and works in a Victorian house by the seaside in the north-west of England with her partner (also a writer) and their children.
First published 2017 by Macmillan Children’s Books
This electronic edition published 2017 by Macmillan Children’s Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
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ISBN 978-1-5098-3956-8
Copyright © Rachael Lucas 2017
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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The State of Grace Page 21
