And why might that be? I hear you cry. I thought you’d never ask. I have got myself an agent – not Julian, of course. I didn’t even bother looking him up, although I’m sure he’ll be retired by now – or dead. This one is a very keen young woman called Kate. She seems highly confident that she will be able to keep me busy. Age brings character roles, apparently, and in this brave new ‘no-woman-is-invisible, age-is-no-barrier, grey-hair-don’t-care’ world the older actress is in great demand. If you don’t believe me then just look at Dames Judy and Helen. And what about Imelda and Maggie, Diana and Celia? Honesty, the list goes on and on. I shall return to London to get some head shots done very soon, and then we shall see what I can make happen.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wanted to write a novel that examined how people can become trapped, not just by their circumstances but also by the stories they tell themselves in their minds.
Both Pip and Evelyn are desperate to break free from lives they believe they are not destined to follow, but are dragged back as a result of events they can’t control. I wanted to think about how that might feel and how you could come to terms with having all your plans cast asunder.
A couple of people helped me to create Pip and Evelyn and I am very grateful to them both. Whilst my first career was as a solicitor and I dealt with barristers regularly, it was a long time ago and I needed to check how much things had changed. Kirsten Sjovoll of Matrix Chambers in Gray’s Inn, London, kindly gave me some of her precious time to answer all my questions.
I knew far less about Evelyn’s world and so I quizzed my good friend and actor Thomas Frere, who was able to explain how auditions and agents and such matters work.
Any mistakes or inaccuracies that I might have made in describing either world are all my own.
As ever, I want to thank the wonderful team at Amazon Publishing and in particular my editor Victoria Pepe, whose calm demeanour has seen me through many a crisis of confidence. Thanks also to Celine Kelly who has edited all my books thus far and always steers me in exactly the right direction.
Finally, thanks to my family. I edited this book in the lockdown of 2020 with all six of us trapped in the house together, and they were all remarkably patient with me. I have to say that I was possibly less patient with them, but they took it in good spirit. The amazing support they give me carries me through the harder parts of writing books for a living, and I am eternally grateful to them all. Thanks also to my wonderful parents, and particularly my mum who is my first reader and loves everything I write （because that’s what mums do）。
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Thank you so much for choosing to read my book.