A December to Remember (108)

Acknowledgments




I always find acknowledgements hard to write because I am so deeply thankful to so many people and I worry that my words won’t properly convey my gratitude. So please know that everyone mentioned here is appreciated more than my meagre words can ever express. And if I’ve missed anyone, then I am truly sorry; it is only a result of my scattered brain and no reflection on you.

To Hayley Steed, my agent at Madeleine Milburn, thank you for your faith in me when I have none in myself, and for being so fiercely supportive; you are like a feisty mother hen in agent form. Thank you, Elinor Davies, for being a ray of sunshine and a helpful star. And to the rest of the MM team—which is the very best team to be a part of—thank you for all the work you do to push my books out into the big wide world: Hannah Ladds, Liane-Louise Smith, Georgia Simmonds, Valentina Paulmichl, and everyone working so hard behind the scenes, I am grateful for you all.

I have a whole bunch of love and gratitude to give to my Putnam family. My US editor, Kate Dresser, is marvelously funny, kind, and supportive. Kate, thank you for making my stories better and keeping me from disappearing down the many rabbit holes I find myself teetering over, like the time I panicked because I don’t write spicy books and I felt like I ought to, so I tried to write a spicy scene and it was so incredibly bad and you said “What was that? Don’t do that again!” Thank you for telling me it’s okay to be me and not to worry about trying to be somebody else.

Thank you, Tarini Sipahimalani—editorial assistant and lovely human—for guiding me through the editorial process with patience and kindness and for writing the most brilliant discussion guide questions for A December to Remember. The glorious book jacket was designed once again by Sanny Chiu, whose talent blows my mind and makes me feel lucky indeed; thank you, Sanny. Production editor Claire Sullivan and copyeditor Kathleen Go, thank you for your editing wisdom. I always look forward to your comment boxes; you make editing fun and keep me on my toes. I especially love the bafflement that my Britishisms create! And to proofreaders Ryan Richardson and Leah Marsh, your eagle-eyed observance is deeply appreciated. Thank you, Elora Weil, publicist, for setting up events, talking me through my nerves, and making sure everyone knows about my books; you go above and beyond, and it doesn’t go unnoticed. My heartfelt thanks go to the rest of the Putnam publishing team, without whom there would be no book at all: Shina Patel, marketer; Maija Baldauf, managing editor; Emily Mileham, senior managing editor; Alison Cnockaert, interior designer; Ashley McClay, marketing director; Alexis Welby, publicity director; and last but definitely not least, Sally Kim, publisher.

Jayne Osborne—formerly my editor at Pan Macmillan—you may have left Pan Mac for new and exciting adventures, but you will never leave my heart. Thank you for championing my books from the very first. And thanks to Kinza Azira—my new editor—for stepping in and hitting the ground running to get this book published. Already you are tackling my panicky emails with good grace, and I thank you for it!

To you, dear reader, I will be eternally grateful that out of the millions of brilliant books on offer you chose to read mine. I still can’t believe I get to fulfill my dream of writing books, and that is all down to you. Thank you! To the wonderful, creative people on Instagram, Twitter, and BookTok, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support, your kind reviews, and for sharing my books on the interweb. It means the world to me. I have found my booky family on Bookstagram, and you are awesome! Bianca-bemused-tree-frog, Kate-of-sock-knitting-genius, and Jean Meltzer, sublime human and writer, I’m so glad we met. Thank you to Lauren Bethancourt and the amazing Bayou Book Babes for letting me be a part of your book club; I love our meetings and I am so thankful for you all. And to Lauren Garcia, fearless leader of the Read Rovers Book Club, thank you for your friendship and support. Book people are the best people. To my friends in the flesh, a million thank-yous for tolerating my long absences while I write and for welcoming me back when I re-emerge bewildered and desperate for cake.

Thankfulness plays a big part in the end of this book, and I am blessed to have so many people in my own life to be thankful for. I feel lucky every day that my greatest friends happen to be my siblings; Linzi and Simon, you are the best. Thanks, Mum and Dad, for being the loudest, proudest cheerleaders for all your children and grandchildren; you give us power. Thank you to my boys, Jack and Will, for being an endless source of joy. And for Dom—husband, best friend, soother of perimenopausal wife, and fellow plant nerd—thank you for letting me be extremely dramatic when writing is hard and for telling me that it will all be okay in the end.

Kindness is everything. My heart is full.