It feels weird not thinking of myself as MC anymore, but I’m getting used to it. I considered going with Marie-Claude (seeing as it’s on my birth certificate), but it’s such a mouthful and I’ve never really liked it. Then I thought maybe I’d go with the first part, the Marie bit, but it didn’t sit well inside my head or in my mouth.
Hi, I’m Marie.
No.
So instead, I’ve gone with Claudie.
I like it.
Claudie sounds like the sort of person I might want to be friends with. Claudie sounds like she’s been through a few things, but they’ve made her a better, stronger person.
So yeah, hi. Pleased to meet you. I’m Claudie. I start at Allumby in three Mond’ies’ time.
I’ve got a good feeling about how it’s all going to pan out.
Acknowledgements
This book started off as one idea, then morphed into something else entirely. But the person who was there at the beginning and who made me think the little nugget of an idea was worth pursuing was Kirsty Eagar. For your enthusiasm and continual, genuine encouragement, Kirsty, I thank you.
Thanks also to Kim Kane for being a good enough friend to counsel me on whether a sequel to The Guy, the Girl was begging to be written. It wasn’t. I owe you.
To my incredible publisher, Anna McFarlane, and my brilliant editor, Elise Jones, enormous, gigantic thanks. Both your names should be on the front cover, because you took my idea and pushed it in directions that surprised and delighted (and exhausted) me. I’d trust both of you with a red pen (or a glass of red wine) anytime. Thanks also to the rest of the amazing team at Allen & Unwin – the clever folk in the sales, marketing and art departments, especially Debra Billson for a cover design that I completely and utterly love.
As always, I want to thank all my friends and family who have supported me through each of my books, especially my gorgeous husband, Andrew, who believes in me a hundred per cent, and my three beautiful children, who show me where the stories are, without even realising they’re doing it.
Thanks to my early readers, who endured various stages of awfulness: Susan Stevenson, Andrew Williams, Natalie Platten, Della Sholl, Audrey McCullough, Sally Fetherstonhaugh, Kate McCullough, Marylou O’Brien, Andrew Borg and Savannah Indigo. Also, thanks to Andrew Borg, Savannah Indigo, Chiara Yiontis and Charlie Williams for detailing the nuanced politics of social media to me, and to James Blake for letting me steal his #TrainSeatFashion idea for my own writing purposes.
Thanks to Varuna the Writers’ House for an amazing fortnight. Two weeks’ worth of concentrated writing, cooked meals and fireside chats with Anita Smith and Natalie Kestecher helped me get this book into a shape I was happy with.
Thanks to Jon Ronson for his most excellent So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, which inspired this book. Thanks to This American Life for a podcast filled with coincidences, which kickstarted my story of Anouk and MC's reconciliation.
Thanks to all the staff at Readings bookshops – especially Bernard Vella, Athina Clarke, Susan Stevenson, Alice Bisits, Daniella Robertson, Andrew Borg, Jackie Redlich and Alistair Mathieson-Lynn – for their unwavering support of me and my writing. You don’t get to be Official Best Bookshop in the World without great people, and Readings is full of them.
Love and thanks to all my #LoveOzYA friends – with a special shout-out to Fiona Wood. Your friendships are an unexpected bonus of writing for young adults.
And finally to my S&B girls – Alison Marquardt, Kate McCullough, Lindy Lloyd, Liz Read, Margie Mitchell, Sally Fetherstonhaugh, Sarah Larwill, Simone Lambert and Simonette Varrenti – this book is dedicated to you, because, well, basically, you’re all awesome. xxx
About the author
Gabrielle Williams lives in Melbourne and has three kids, one husband and a dog. In the name of research, she has spent time underground with a clandestine group called the Cave Clan, conducted a series of in-depth interviews with a group of notorious art thieves, and spent some time animating strawberries and trawling Tinder. She is the author of the critically acclaimed YA novels Beatle Meets Destiny, The Reluctant Hallelujah and The Guy, The Girl, The Artist and His Ex, all of which have been shortlisted for a number of prestigious awards.
My Life as a Hashtag Page 21
