Acknowledgements
for Dear Lina
When you publish your novel as an audiobook, you don’t get that wonderful page at the end where you can tell the world about the amazing people who helped you go from a blank page to a finished novel. So I’ve included it here.
Dear Lina started life back in 2016 as a NaNoWriMo novel. In the December of that year, I ran a crowdfunding campaign to be able to visit the cities that Lina travels through. I stayed on friends and relatives couches, with a hiking rucksack on my back, taking notes and pictures and imagining myself in Lina’s shoes. That research trip, and the novel that followed it would not have been possible without the support of the 20 people who contributed to my crowdfunder. They kept me fed, paid for my train tickets, and allowed me to replace my old hole-filled walking boots with brand-new ones that kept my feet warm and dry as I traversed the route of Hadrian’s Wall in early December. Thank you to each and every one of them for their support in those early days.
As many people do, I got stuck, a couple of years after I started the book, and had some wonderful beta readers who helped me get over my plot holes and to see what the story was really about: Catherine, Roo, Matty and Sarah, thank you for caring about me and my characters, and wanting us to find our way.
In 2019, I went on an Arvon retreat to learn about editing my novel (something which I’d been putting off for…ever) and met an amazing bunch of writers who inspired me and made me laugh, even when I was convinced that I wouldn’t ever finish the edits and make it into an actual whole book. Thank you to all of those people, and to all the staff at Totleigh Barton who made the retreat I was terrified to go on into something I didn’t want to leave.
On that retreat I also met my editor, Ellah Wakatama Alfrey, whose straight-talking critique and compassionate belief in my writing took my novel from a loose narrative with dystopian themes, to the piece it is today. Her insight and expertise, as well as her humour put me at ease and showed me that I did have a story to tell. Thank you Ellah, from the moment you told me to send you the finished manuscript to the moment I sent you the last edits, you have supported me and made my first experience of working with an editor joyous and filled with ways to improve my future work.
I must also thank the lovely people at Audible UK who answered all my questions and supported me throughout the publishing process, which was an entirely new experience for me. Particular mention to Alex Hargreaves and Alice Morgan who made publishing a debut during a global pandemic much less terrifying!
To Kerry Ryan, founder of the incomparable Write Like a Grrrl, what can I say? Without you, I wouldn’t have finished a single short story; without you, I wouldn’t have read anywhere near as widely; without you, I would never have believed in my writing in the way you make me believe in my writing. And without you, I would never have met the wider Write Like a Grrrl cohort, who have become my closest friends, my siblings in ink, my fellow procrastinators. You inspire so many people every single day to pick up a pen, or sit down at their keyboards, and all the thanks in the world would not be enough to express to you how grateful I am for your belief, your encouragement, and your mentorship.
To my writing group, my wonderful Grrrls, you have been an inspiration to me since the first time we sat around that giant glass table in an East London hipster café with terrible service and a condescending (male) barista who kept trying to rename our group. Nadia, Chloe, Isha, Harriet, Ellen, Rebecca, Esther, and Megan, having you in my life has been an absolute joy, and I’m so honoured to be able to call you all my friends. Your encouragement for all things writing over the last nine years has made me the writer I am today, and shown me the writer I could become in the future. I truly could not have done this without you.
My partner Jen, who spent many days reading my draft during the first lockdown in 2020, then re-reading it when I’d edited; who called me down from heights of anxiety when I was convinced I couldn’t ever finish, or even reply to emails; whose support and encouragement when I hit plot walls I thought I couldn’t solve was unwavering: I love you, so much. You made the process of editing feel much easier, and infinitely doable. You held me up when I felt like I couldn’t go on, and celebrated with me at every step of the way. Thank you, so much for everything you’ve done and everything you continue to do.
And finally, but never least: my mother Susan. Your unwavering support, your encouragement from my first childhood story, to my teenage poetry, to my blog posts, to my first published piece, to now: you have always been there, believing in me when I didn’t (and don’t) believe in myself, cheering me on and knowing that I can do anything I set my mind to. You were the inspiration for so much of this book: for the shelves lined with books, the beds smelling of lavender, chocolate cakes and city adventures, memorised poems and soothing songs. You have been there for everything, with love and smiles and hugs, with an understanding ear. Without you, Dear Lina would not exist, and I would not be the person I am today.