Acknowledgements
Firstly, thanks to my charming, unflappable and wise publisher, Lynne Drew, ably assisted by the lovely editor Lucy Stewart, who both always managed to make work a pleasure. Well at my end, I apologise if it wasn’t at yours, heh heh.
The whole HarperCollins family are a delight to deal with, thank you for your support, with a high five to Holly Macdonald for the wonderful artwork. This is how Roisin and Matt looked when they lived inside my head.
Much gratitude to Doug Kean, my wonderful agent, my work husband, the man with the best laugh (not always laughing at me).
Research-wise, thank you to the brilliant Sarah Ellison for walking me through the challenges of teaching in a secondary school in the 21st century (however, any mistakes and all ripe swears regarding pupils are my inventions).
Once again thanks to Manchester resident and expert in all things stylish, Julia Mitchell, for keeping me up to date with one of the world’s best cities.
Cheers to my screen agent, Mark Casarotto, for naming SEEN! I still think this series idea is solid, you know.
Bryan Ferry wrote ‘Slave to Love’, not me, and I thank him for my little borrow of its opening line.
Furthermore, I am devastated to be forced to recognise the contribution of the Stoke Newington flâneur, my friend Leo Barker. Incredibly, some passages in this work of complete fiction are directly inspired by his lurid antics. We’ll draw a veil.
I nicked a joke from one Olly Richards and had an observation in this novel generously donated by Justin Myers, thank you both for graciously allowing my thefts.
Thank you to my loyal band of first-draft readers: on this go round, Tara, Katie, Kristy, Sean. Couldn’t do it without you, or not without ending up completely off my chanks, as they say.
Thank you to my readers out in the world – the privilege of having your time is a thrill that’s never worn off and I strive to earn it.
And thank you, as ever, to Alex. To quote your favourite Coldplay (ARF), nobody said it was easy, nobody ever said it would be this hard. My process is a journey, thank you for taking over the driving when I’m busy looking at the map.