LITMIR.BIZ

      My heartfelt thanks go to Charlotte Mursell and all at HQ Digital who believed in this book based on just a few chapters, sent in a moment of crazy hope…and for their subsequent patience with me as I tried, and failed, to meet deadlines during late pregnancy and early motherhood. Thank you for all your guidance which helped shape a story into a novel.

      Eternal thanks to my Mum and Dad, to whom I owe everything, for your love and support; and also to my bonus parents – David, Pauline, Pam, Victoria and Daniel, for all you do and have done for me.

      Siempre gracias a mi querido Alex, for supporting me, for being nothing like Harry, and for all the long walks you took that enabled me to do this. And to our precious Sofia for your patience and good nature with us both…you are my daily inspiration and joy, and everything I do is for you.

      Massive thanks to my two most valued critics – Janine Swann, for being my partner in crime (and writing) since we were small, and Debbie Carbin, a.k.a. Beth Thomas, for your ongoing feedback, ideas and insistence that I gave this a shot in the first place. You both inspired and encouraged me to keep going when I felt I couldn't.

      Thank you to my dear Unc for your support and guidance, and for being a lifelong example of making dreams come true through writing.

      Big thanks to all my wonderful friends, and other tenuously related people, in particular Zach, Beth, Amy, Roberta, Tam, Ania, Tania, Rory, MSL… Thank you also to Kirsty Mc for going on the original adventure with me, and for letting me borrow your name.

      If it does not sound too strange to thank a country, I also feel an immense gratitude to Ecuador, especially Quito…the place that has become my second home, and whose vibrant beauty and diversity provide the perfect setting for anyone who wants to write.

      Last but not least, this book owes so much to the women whose experiences I have heard about, and whom I have had the privilege to meet, in prison in South America. You gave me a new perspective on life, and I hope that through this I have gone a little way towards telling your stories.